Carry on, because life goes on
by deadnoble
Summary: So long as you draw breath, never give up. Grit your broken teeth and drag your bloody carcass forward. Fight, suffer, cry as you crawl through the dark pits of despair. And who knows? Maybe one day you'll find that your unsightly struggle had some meaning. **SAO AU, from the perspective of an OC protagonist. Extra emphasis on SAO supporting cast. NOT a self-insert**
1. And so it begins

**A/N:** **This fanfic is based on the SAO anime and the manga SAO Progressive. Factual info is from the SAO wiki.**

 **Since there are OCs in this fanfic, the story will play out differently - you have been warned.**

 **Also, all existing chapters have been rewritten. New content has been added to these chapters.**

* * *

Ch.1 – And so it begins

"Players, I wish you the best of luck."

Every single person was too shocked to feel any irritation towards (the self-proclaimed) Kayaba Akihiko's mockery. Instead, everyone stood with their eyes wide and mouths agape, watching with stupefied expressions as the gigantic, hooded avatar disintegrated and disappeared without a trace. The players continued to stare at the empty space where the red GM avatar had been, even as the sky returned to its familiar shade of orange and the setting sun appeared once more.

Everyone remained paralysed, petrified, frozen in place, waiting for...what, exactly? Somebody to tell them that everything was just a dream, a cruel illusion? That everything they had experienced was nothing more than an elaborate joke? Salvation comes from the heavens, but unfortunately for us, the deity of this world was a cruel one; after all, it was he who unleashed hell upon us all. So much for divine intervention!

The trapped SAO victims' inability to adequately comprehend and react to the absurdity of the situation was the dam which held back the turbulent torrent of emotions. With each passing second, the eerie, fragile silence threatened to be shattered by anguish and confusion.

"No... NO!"

The weak, desperate scream of a young girl that reverberated throughout the silent city was the cue for silence and sanity to depart, and for negativity to make its thundering entrance. Almost all at once, people began yelling and begging, demanding and denying. They all directed their frustrations and hopelessness towards the empty spot they had been looking at for an eternity.

"Don't screw with me!"

"I want out! Log me out already!"

Those who did not take part in this emotional yet unfortunately vain chorus of protests were either too busy crying or were too grief-stricken to do naught but wallow in their own misery.

"I can't stay here… I have other things to do soon!"

"Are you _trying_ to kill us!?"

The middle-aged man in front of me was screaming profanities as he shook his fists in anger, while the brown-haired girl next to me collapsed onto her knees, her eyes fixed onto the ground. Her body trembled as teardrops slid down her face. The teenager on my other side had his face in his hands as he sobbed loudly.

All of us must have made quite the pitiful sight.

The transparent barrier which previously prevented people from leaving was quietly dispelled amidst all the chaos and negativity. Deciding that it would be wise to actually do something instead of simply standing in the city square among a boisterous, enraged crowd, I left the area heading for… well, nowhere in particular.

* * *

As horrifying as nightmares may be, they aren't eternal. Yes, I am aware that some people experience recurring nightmares, my sister being one of these hapless individuals, but even they can wake up from the bad dreams that plague them, and seek refuge in the world of the living until the infallible hands of sleep drag them back into the world of sleep. Unfortunately, this nightmare of a situation was not to be cut short through natural means. Unlike the great fabulists of dreamland which had no qualms telling unfinished stories, he who authored the tragedy of SAO was determined that his tale reached its finale. Thus the only option left to us was to grit our teeth and carve our own path back to reality.

At the moment, I was a Level 1 player who had an unimpressive amount of Cor and HP. Logging in for the first time only moments before Kayaba Akihiko's big reveal meant that I had yet to do anything productive, which was why the skill levels of the few skills I possessed, as well as my EXP, were at an impressive... zero. Being armed with a Bronze Sword and wearing a Fur Chestplate – the standard SAO starting gear – made my circumstances so much more encouraging.

The amount of time it would take to complete SAO meant that making it home in time for supper was out of the question. The same could be said for breakfast the next day. Or lunch. Or any meals in the following... months? Years? There was always the possibility of spending the rest of my life stuck in Aincrad trying to escape from the death game. If that were to happen, at least I'd be able to break a few gaming world records…

Though levelling up was a priority, it was almost night time, and I wasn't keen to risk being ambushed by monsters lurking under the cover of the dark; grinding would be a matter for another day. In the meantime, I decided to look for somewhere I could spend the night safely. I eventually found an inn and rented a room for 50 Cor. There were better lodgings available, but I didn't want to spend too much money when I wasn't confident in my ability to earn cash. It's not as if the room was unbearable to stay in, even though it was a little shabby.

Not having anything better to do, I decided to take a walk around the Starting City. I never really had the chance to explore the area, and I thought that it'd be a good opportunity to look for companions. Approximately two hours of mindless wandering later, I found myself returning to the very same public square where the secrets of the world (aka the true, diabolical nature of SAO) were exposed to us. A large number of people remained in that part of the city, though their previous frantic energy had completed evaporated into thin air; they had been so emotionally drained that they were completely unresponsive to my movements as I approached them. Soulless eyes coupled with lifeless bodies made them look more like corpses than actual people. It was too painful to continuing looking at them so I quickly turned and left the public square.

It couldn't be helped that everyone was acting as they did. All living things fear death by instinct – I should know that better than anybody else. For most people trapped in SAO, it was the first time in their lives they were involved in a life-and-death situation. The historic launch of SAO – the first ever VRMMORPG and most anticipated game of all time – was, as expected, an unforgettable event, albeit for completely unexpected reasons. To think that it was only hours ago when SAO Players excitedly stepped foot into the fantastical realm of Aincrad, eager to dash towards the open fields to seek out their first mob to slay! Imagine their elated faces as they immersed themselves in a world which, until today, only existed in the wildest of fantasies. The Starting City must have been such a joyful, vibrant place; all it took was a madman's speech to change all of that. Now, an atmosphere of death hung over the Starting City. You could smell the despair, taste the fear, and it was a sickening combination of sensations.

* * *

My search for allies had so far been in vain. Every single person I encountered was too shaken up to be any help. How could I count on them to cover my back when they lacked the will to even stand? I tried changing my approach: if I could not find someone to partner with then perhaps I could create my own comrades? I entertained the idea of approaching some of the people I met and encouraging them to fight alongside me, but thought better against it.

To inspire the emotionally distraught Players to stand and fight required giving them something they could believe in, something in which they could place their hopes on. The only source of hope I could offer to them was me myself, but what basis was there for them to believe in the 'hope' I had to offer? Unlike the beta testers, I had zero experience in SAO combat, and only possessed fragmented information about how the game worked. How could I ask anyone to trust in me when I wasn't even sure about getting through the next day in one piece? Even if I somehow managed to motivate someone into becoming my ally, what then? There was almost nothing I could do to help them.

Unable to find help and powerless to help anyone, the recent developments had really left me high and dry. Thinking about my lack of progress, I involuntarily sighed for the millionth time.

"Someone sure looks depressed."

What the –

Startled, I spun around so quickly that I almost lost my balance. Thankfully I didn't make a fool out of myself by falling down – that would have been embarrassing. The voice belonged to a cloaked girl who had curly auburn hair, brown eyes and … whiskers? Those were pretty cute. I wondered if she was smirking out of habit or because she successfully sneaked up to and surprised me. Of all the trapped SAO Players I had run into, she was the only one who had life in her. She was also the only person whose lips were upturned.

"It's hard not to feel down given our circumstances," I replied after quickly collecting myself. "Though it seems that some of us are handling things better than others, miss..."

"Just Argo is fine, don't bother with any formalities," Argo introduced herself as we shook hands. "What's your name?"

Oh, you're going to love this.

"Believe it or not, my IGN's actually LOL (pronounced 'ehl-oh-ehl' as opposed to 'lawl')," I answered with a chuckle.

"LOL, as in 'laugh out loud'?" Argo looked amused.

"Yup, thought I'd get a few laughs out of it, but feel free to call me whatever you want."

"In that case, how does the nickname 'servant' sound?" Argo cheekily suggested.

"I exist solely for the sake of serving milady! Your wish is my command," I declared dramatically, giving her a mocking bow. "However, it is admittedly a little difficult to serve milady without knowing exactly why she approached me in the first place. Perhaps she might share her reasons with this lowly servant?"

"Very well, I shall grant you this knowledge as a reward for your unwavering devotion," Argo said, playing along with my charade. "Your master wishes to enlist your help in salvaging this messed up situation. Everything's gone straight to hell, yet most people are either too scared or too clueless to do anything about this fucked-up death game, and I want to change all of that."

"How very interesting. I take it that you already have something planned?" I asked. By this point both of us had dropped the servant-master act.

"That's right. I'd tell you more, but it is getting late. Why don't we grab something to eat, and I'll explain everything once we've sat down? My treat," Argo added.

"Aha! So your 'plan' all along was to score a date with a handsome young man. I'm onto you now!" I just couldn't resist passing up the opportunity to crack a joke.

"Sorry, I don't see any handsome men around," she replied cheerfully. Ouch. "Are you coming or not?"

"Who am I to deny a date with a cute girl? Lead the way." We chatted and joked with each other as we walked, and I could not help but feel optimistic that my search for comrades had finally bear fruit. It was at this time I learned that Argo was one of the lucky beta testers for SAO.

We ended up going to a restaurant located at the southern side of Starting City. The textures of the brick walls and wooden furniture, as well as the smell of the burning candles were no different from the real world. Too lazy to bother reading the menu, I asked Ago to get me whatever she ordered for herself. Allergic reactions did not exist within SAO, so everything on offer was edible.

"I'm sure you've got quite a few questions for me. Feel free to fire away," Argo said after she was done ordering.

"You admitted to having some sort of plan to improve the current situation. What is it?"

"According to Kayaba Akihiko, the only possible method of returning to the real world is to complete SAO. To do that, we'll have to fight our way through Aincrad and defeat all 100 Floor Bosses. However, like any MMO game, it's impossible to beat these bosses without a sufficiently-sized raid party. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Yes, you're right." An NPC waitress delivered our drinks, and without considering the fact that she wasn't human, I smiled and thanked her.

"Unfortunately, as of now there are two huge obstacles stopping us from even forming a large enough raid party. Firstly, the large majority of Players are too scared of the possibility of death to risk leaving Starting City, let alone join the raid party. Secondly, most of the new Players don't really know what to do advance in the game, and the lack of an official in-game tutorial doesn't help at all. They won't be able to do much in a boss raid if they aren't high-levelled enough or don't have good enough equipment." I nodded to show my agreement.

Oh, food's here. I had become quite hungry, and I imagine that the same could be said for Argo, because we quickly dug into our respective bowls of soup. It was warm and tasted quite nice.

"My plan is to create an info guide based on everything I've learned from the beta test," Argo explained between spoonfuls of food. "The info guide will not only explain the basic game mechanics such as equipping items and forming parties, but also contain useful information ranging from hunting spots to battle tips. My friends are already working on creating and mass producing the info guide; once we have a large enough stock of them, they'll be distributed amongst the Players." She paused to take a sip of her drink, allowing me time to digest her words.

"The primary objective of creating and handing out the info guide is to help the new Players start the game off on the right foot by teaching them all the SAO fundamentals. The faster they learn how to play the game, the earlier they can contribute towards clearing it. Of course, providing information about the behaviours and weaknesses of the various monsters in SAO, among other things, should make things easier for everyone." We had finished our meal, and the NPC waitress came to collect the dishes. Having completed her explanation, Argo silently waited as I processed everything she said.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Argo's plan was simply fantastic. By facilitating the spread of vital information, she would have drastically increased the average Player's chances of survival. Even more impressive was the fact that Argo and her friends were already carrying out the initial stages of their plan only hours after the diabolical death game began.

"As much as I hate inflating your ego, I've got to hand it to you for coming up with such an amazing plan. So, how does a new Player like me fit into your schemes?" I asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

Wait, what the hell?

"Hey, there's no need to look so shocked. I wasn't lying when I said that I approached you because I wanted your help," Argo said.

"What made you think that I'd be any use in the first place?" I couldn't resist the temptation to ask.

"You looked like someone who has the potential to go a long way in this death game. I thought that you might be able to help us out somehow," Argo answered with a shrug. "I've always been a good judge of character so I decided to trust my intuition and speak to you."

"I don't know what it is you see in me, but I guess it's up to me to live up to whatever expectations you have of me," I said with a sigh. "Though my assistance may be limited, I'll try my best to contribute to your cause."

"Perfect!" Argo exclaimed, flashing me toothy grin. "I'll be in your care from now on, partner."

"Heh, likewise."

I insisted on paying for the meal to show my gratitude.

* * *

Having secured my aid, Argo's next step was to take me to the base she and her friends used. It turned out that the so-called base was an upmarket inn room that was twice the price and thrice the size of mine. Additionally, the inn room did not show the same signs of wear and tear mine did. My initial impression, upon setting foot into said inn room, was that it was unexpectedly messy: brownish pieces of paper were scattered all over the furniture and the floor; in fact, so much of the room was covered with paper that it became difficult and somewhat annoying to avoid stepping on them while navigating around the room. Upon closer inspection, each sheet of paper was filled to the brim with words, though some had drawings and diagrams on them.

A bespectacled teenage boy was the only person in the room. Sitting on a chair in the 'thinker pose', he made no move to acknowledge the two people who just entered the room. I couldn't tell if this was because he was so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't noticed us, or if he was just being antisocial.

Short-sightedness did not exist in SAO, so the glasses were either for appearance's sake or were some kind of stat-boosting item. From what I remembered from the shops I passed by earlier today, the glasses on sale were among the more expensive items in Starting City.

Bringing a finger to her lips, Argo gestured for me to stay silent. She stealthily tiptoed towards the boy, taking great care not to make a sound or step on the scattered pieces of paper by accident. Successfully creeping up behind him, Argo sported a wicked grin as she took a deep breath…

The poor bastard didn't know what hit him.

"I'M BACK!" Argo yelled, snapping the boy out of his trance, his body jerking violently in surprise. He looked mildly annoyed, but otherwise did not seem too bothered by Argo's antics.

"That was longer than expected. What were you doing?" he asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"I found someone willing to help us out, so I took my time telling him about our plans regarding the info guide," Argo answered, jabbing a finger at me. I gave the boy a friendly wave and smile, and received a curt downwards nod as a greeting in return. "He's a new Player who knows how some of the gaming mechanics work on paper, but he doesn't have any experience whatsoever."

"My name's LOL but Argo calls me servant." Argo smirked at the mention of the nickname she gave me. "I'm a newbie, so there's a limit to what I can contribute, but I'm willing to help in whatever way possible." His response to my self-introduction was to open his menu and send me a friend request.

 _The Player Clausewitz would like to add you as a friend._

Naming his avatar after Carl Von Clausewitz, one of the greatest military theorists in history probably meant that he was pretty confident in his brainpower. It was a pity that the reference would be lost on most SAO Players, as Clausewitz was not a well-known figure within Japan.

"It'll take another day or two before we begin distributing the info guide," Clausewitz said as I accepted his friend request. "For now, you should travel with Argo and learn as much as you can from her."

"Okay, I understand," I replied.

"Are you fine with this arrangement, Argo?" Clausewitz asked.

"That's fine by me. I'm the one who recruited him in the first place, so it's only fitting that I train him," Argo answered.

"Excellent. Now, there are a few things I need your help with." Argo and Clausewitz then began discussing various things; since there wasn't anything I could contribute to the ongoing conversation between the two, I decided to entertain myself by picking up one of the scattered sheets of paper and reading its contents.

 _Current state of affairs in SAO (6 Nov 2022 19:00)_

 _The situation has, unfortunately, become even worse. A Player by the name of Arvin, who Argo identified as a beta tester for SAO, believed that the Nerve Gear would automatically log him out of the SAO death game if he was cut off from the system. At 18:42, from a cliff situated at the western side of the Starting City, he jumped off Aincrad and quickly fell out of sight. Around 5 seconds later, the sound of a Player's body disintegrating into polygons – which is the game's portrayal of the destruction of the Player's avatar – could be clearly heard._

 _Immediately afterwards, the crowd observing Arvin's fall into oblivion hurried towards the Room of the Resurrected, the location where a dead Player would revive/spawn at. As expected, Arvin did not return._

 _There has been a significant change to the Room of the Resurrected: there is now a black metal monument which did not exist during the beta test. What's more, this monument has the name of every single Player trapped in Aincrad. Players who are dead – both in the game and in real life – have their names crossed out, with the cause of death written next to their crossed out names. There are a total of 214 crossed out names: 213 of these had "death by premature removal of Nerve Gear"; this was something Kayaba had brought up. The other crossed out name was Arvin's, with "suicide by jumping off Aincrad" as the cause of death._

 _Interestingly, there has been a new feature added to the game since the beta test: when one taps on the name of a deceased Player, a panel with the deceased's level, location of demise and total playing time will pop up. For beta testers, the amount of time they spent in the beta version of the game is not added to the total playing time, which means that the total playing time is only a record of the time spent playing the official version of SAO._

 _The incident could be seen as confirmation of the reality of SAO being a death game, and seems to have led to an increased degree of negativity among some of the Players. One concern is that other Players who cannot cope with the stress will follow Arvin's example._

 _We have also confirmed that a few of the Players have already moved on to the nearby Horunka Village. All these Players seem to be beta testers, though it is unknown whether there are other Players who have also gone to the next village, aside from those who we know of._

Wow, that was a lot of information to digest. I think I missed Arvin's suicide because I was in the middle of purchasing an inn room. Despite what Kayaba said about SAO becoming a death game, it was probably inevitable that there would be some Players who doubted his words, so a Player acting on their doubt and doing something like this was probably bound to happen. On the other hand, Arvin was an idiot for choosing to escape a death game where death in-game meant death in real life through an in-game suicide.

The report also mentioned that some Players took the initiative and reached the next village. Well, kudos to them for having the courage and strength to make it there. Even if the monsters between the Starting City and Horunka Village were weak, facing them under the circumstances of the death game was a whole other issue.

A loud clap rang out by my ear, causing me to jolt in surprise. The exasperated look I gave Argo did nothing but widen her mischievous smirk.

"We're leaving." Argo and I bid Clausewitz farewell and left the inn.

* * *

The streets were completely empty: no a single Player was to be found, and the various NPC stalls had been vacated, as the NPCs had already returned to... well, somewhere.

"By the way, Argo, where are the rest of your friends?" I asked. Argo mentioned that she and her friends used this base, and last time I checked, 'friends' referred to more than one person.

"A few of them are wandering around Starting City, while a couple of them have gone on to the next village," Argo replied. "They're all occupied so don't expect to meet any of them soon. We aren't going to do much tonight, and it's already quite late. Why don't you get some rest?"

"Sleep will be nice," I commented with a yawn; Players did experience fatigue in SAO. Argo wanted to know where I was staying, so she walked back with me. It did not take long for us to start ribbing each other. At one point I was about to make a retort to something she said, but I stopped upon noticing someone who looked strangely familiar.

A brown-haired girl wearing a breastplate over a dark red one piece dress (her equipment was the standard starting gear for female Players) was sitting on a bench some distance away from us, a familiar forlorn look on her face. Judging by appearance, one would guess that she was around fourteen or fifteen years of age.

I knew that I had seen her somewhere before, but where did I –

"Ooh, is that your type? She is cute." I did not need to look at Argo to know that she was grinning from ear to ear.

"That's not it you idiot, and stop nudging me. I'm trying to remember who that girl is since she looks really familiar." Staring at said girl for a few more seconds, I suddenly realised that she happened to be by my side when Kayaba was talking about the death game earlier today; I recalled her collapsing to her knees and crying quietly.

"I don't know who she is, but I remember seeing her break down during Kayaba's announcement. What's she doing out here so late?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Who knows? She probably had trouble sleeping or something," Argo commented as I continued to stare at the girl.

I was neither incapable of empathising with others, nor was I unable to act on such emotions. Yet, I believed that it was unwise to offer assistance when I wasn't in a position to give a helping hand, because an ineffective attempt to assist could be more destructive than not offering help at all. Imagine offering someone a glimmer of hope only to snatch it away from them; that would be too cruel. Thus, despite the stinging sensation in my chest, I held myself back from trying to aid any of the SAO victims I ran into. I did not reach out to the teenager wallowing in his despair, did not reach out to the miserable lady curled into a ball hugging her knees, did not reach out to the bawling kid crying for his parents.

To my horror, I found it mentally impossible to abandon the brown-haired girl. I was by no means prescient, but I knew that the guilt of walking away from her would tear my heart into bloody pieces. Why did I develop such an incomparably strong urge to comfort, to support, to do something for this person? There were plenty of people who fared worse than her; in fact, she already looked much better compared to earlier today. I felt nothing when she was at her worst, yet I felt a pressing need to aid her when it seemed that she had recovered somewhat.

…

"Hey, are you alright?" Argo's question dragged me back into the land of the living. Her face showed clear concern; my expression was probably quite disturbing if it provoked such a worried reaction from her.

"Sorry, I... got caught off guard, but I'm fine now," I tried my best to reassure Argo. She probably wasn't convinced, but didn't question me any further.

My circumstances had changed: I now had a mentor who was knowledgeable about how the game worked and had experience playing it. It would be fine to extend a helping hand to the girl, wouldn't it? However, the issue was whether Argo would mind looking another person. I still didn't know much about her circumstances, so it might be rather inconsiderate to ask her to do so, but it can't hurt to ask, right?

"Argo, would you be willing to take that girl under your wing and train her as well? I can't bear to leave her alone," I asked of my whiskered companion. "I'm sorry to make such a selfish request, and you have every right to refuse. I promise that there will be no hard feelings if you say no."

"I'd be glad to! The merrier the more, right?"

For some reason, at that moment I found Argo's smile very comforting.

* * *

 **A/N: First things first, thank you for taking your time to read this story and I hope that it has been an enjoyable experience.**

 **This story will include both seasons of the anime so characters like Yuuki and Sinon will appear eventually.**

 **I've always felt that SAO has such a great supporting cast, yet they never get a chance to shine due to all the focus being on Kirito and Asuna, which is a pity. Hence, while those two will still play major roles in this story, other characters such as Klein and Argo will have equal, if not larger, roles. As mentioned above, there will be OCs in this story, but most of them will be limited in number and appearances; in fact, the only OC with a major role throughout the story is the protagonist.**

 **Regarding the OC protagonist, I've intentionally withheld information about him. I will disclose bits and pieces about him throughout your story, and it is up to the reader to piece the various fragments together.**

 **The other OC, Clausewitz, is Argo's friend and serves as an advisor of sorts to her.**

 **Finally, feel free to PM/leave a review. Once again, thanks for reading!**


	2. Progress

Ch.2 – Progress

"Are you sure? Accepting my request would be tantamount to being responsible for one more Player's life, you know." Despite my decision to ultimately make the request of Argo, part of me was still anxious about adding to her burdens.

"Seriously, you're worrying way too much," she cheerfully replied. "It's just looking after another person, no need to blow things out of proportion. Besides, I've got a reliable partner who'll help me out, right?"

"Hehe, you're right. Thank you so much, Argo. This means a lot to me." Fortunately it seemed that my concerns were for naught.

"You're welcome. Though I must say, this confirms my earlier suspicions." A mischievous twinkle was apparent in Argo's eyes.

Uh oh.

"What do you mean?" I was a bit afraid of what she had to say next.

"I now have solid proof that she IS your type!" Of course, it was just like Argo to say something like that.

"Really, you misunderstand me. It is simply my duty as Prince Charming to be there for all damsels in distress! I am just carrying out my duty," I declared dramatically.

"Prince Charming isn't a very fitting name for someone with as much charm as a blobfish," Argo deadpanned. Ouch, that was a low blow. And men do not take low blows well.

"Come on, let's go speak with her." Once again, I found myself following Argo's lead.

* * *

"Hey there." With a mildly surprised expression on her face, the girl lifted her head and was greeted with our faces. It seemed that she didn't notice us approaching her.

"Can I sit next to you?" Argo asked gently. A nod from the girl was the consent Argo needed to sit on the bench next to her. I opted to remain standing next to my whiskered companion, content to leave the interaction to her.

"What're you doing out here so late? Can't sleep?" Argo asked.

"...Yes," the girl answered, her voice heavy with melancholy. "I came out here to clear my head."

"I see. And how's that going?"

"Not so well."

"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you? You might feel better sharing your problems with someone else," Argo suggested.

"...If we go out there, we'll die. But if we don't, we can't go back to the real world. There's nothing we can do at all." The brown haired girl began tearing up as she spoke. "I don't want to be stuck in here all alone. I miss my family!"

There was a few seconds of silence as Argo allowed the sobbing girl to wallow in her misery uninterrupted. As teardrops slid down her face, I contemplated saying something to cheer her up, but before I could make a move Argo subtly gazed at my direction.

 _Stand down. I've got this._ That was how I interpreted the look Argo gave me. Whether or not that was the message she was trying to send, I ended up staying my hand since she seemed like she knew what she was doing.

"You're wrong about one thing," Argo suddenly declared in a firm voice. The girl wiped her eyes with her sleeve before tilting her head to look at Argo.

"You will never be alone because the two of us are here for you. We'll get through this together, I swear," Argo gently said as she looked the girl in her eyes. At the same time, she wrapped her fingers around the girl's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll do everything we can to help you, so stop worrying and believe in us, okay?"

The girl's eyes widened in surprise; for a while she was unable to form an adequate response. Her emotions then got the better of her: as the girl's body quivered, tears flowed once more.

"Thank you... thank you so much!" Though it was weak, her voice was filled with raw emotion; it was impossible to doubt her sincerity.

"If you want to thank anyone, thank him. He insisted on us helping you," Argo said as she jabbed her thumb at my direction.

"Thank you for saving me, even though we're strangers." As she expressed her gratitude, I thought to myself that her smiling face was a hundred times prettier than her crying one.

"My pleasure," I replied. "Though I don't suppose you could tell us your name? It'll be more convenient to call you by your name than to refer to you as 'the brown haired beauty'."

"You think you're so smooth, but you're acting like a fool," Argo murmured as she rolled her eyes. Our new friend laughed at my unexpected joke.

"Just to clarify, you should introduce yourself with your in-game-name," I added.

"Oh. My name's Lisbeth."

"I'm LOL, and this is my Argo, my pet. She speaks human." Said girl responded to the 'introduction' with a punch to the gut.

"Okay, let's try that again," I said, a hand on my stomach. "I'm LOL, and this is Argo, the bane of my existence." Lisbeth seemed to be amused by our antics. We swapped friend requests with Lisbeth, and promised to have breakfast with her at the inn she was staying at the following morning.

"You should get some rest, it's been a long day," Argo told Lisbeth.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure that I'll be able to fall asleep this time, thanks to you two," Lisbeth replied with a smile.

* * *

"You did an incredible job comforting Lisbeth," I said to Argo. Having walked Lisbeth back to her lodging, the two of us were once again the only people wandering the empty streets.

"I'm just glad that it worked out. By the way, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, fire away."

"Was there something special about Lisbeth that drew you to her? I could tell that you were really passionate about helping her."

"Oh? Are you jealous that I'm giving her so much attention?"

"Are you an idiot?" Argo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope."

"Then there's your answer." Hah, well played Argo. Well played. There was a few seconds of silence before I addressed Argo's question.

"It's a long explanation so bear with me. You see, my sister had the misfortune of being involved in a… tragedy of some sorts when she was only a little kid. Blood was spilled, someone was killed, but the worst part was that not a single fucking person gave a damn about the terrified little girl who happened to be caught up in everything. It was as if everybody just assumed she would walk away from the incident without any emotional trauma whatsoever! So many people could have helped my sister, but nobody did, and so she had to cry alone, suffer alone, struggle through those painful days all alone." I stopped to catch my breath before I continued speaking.

"My sister had to endure the excruciation of suffering in isolation, and I couldn't in good conscience let Lisbeth go through what my sister went through. Also, if I abandoned Lisbeth when I was in a position to help her, I would be no different from the people who ignored my sister's suffering. I needed to prove to myself that I was better than them, that I was someone who could extend a helping hand to someone who needs it. Well, there you have it. Those were my motivations for helping Lisbeth."

"I'm sorry for making you talk about such painful memories," Argo apologised sombrely.

"Nah, don't worry about it. You couldn't have known. Plus, you're taking care of Lisbeth because of a request I made, so it's only fair you know about the reasons behind the request," I said with a dismissive wave. We had finally reached the inn I was staying at, and it was time for us to part for the night. Argo told me to make sure that I rest up and prepared myself for tomorrow; when I asked her if she had anything planned, she flashed her trademark grin.

"Tomorrow, we'll begin your combat training."

* * *

Abruptly released from the illusions of sleep, I yawned while twisting and stretching my body. My surroundings were completely shrouded in darkness, owing to the lack of a window and switched off lights. I was tempted to shut my eyes and submerge myself in the fantasies of dreamland for the rest of the morning, but I did agree to meet Argo and Lisbeth for breakfast at the inn Lisbeth was staying in – and who was I to miss an appointment with two young ladies? I shrugged off the blanket embracing my body and prepared myself for the day.

By the time I arrived, Lisbeth and Argo were already seated at one of the inn's dining tables, chatting amicably. I was glad that Lisbeth was in a good mood; it was gratifying to see her smile, considering how stressed she had been. As for Argo, she was no different from how she had been yesterday – cheerful, energetic and keen to throw verbal jabs at me whenever the opportunity arose. The three of us chatted about a variety of things while eating breakfast: I recounted my meeting with Argo to Lisbeth, and Argo briefly explained to her what she and her friends were trying to achieve. Argo also made Lisbeth and I swear to keep the identities of any beta Players we knew a secret, claiming that we'd understand the reasons for doing so sooner or later. By the way, Argo had taken a liking to calling Lisbeth 'Liz', and she also decided to abbreviate my name to 'L' – not that I minded sharing names with one of the coolest characters in anime history.

"Hey Liz, I need to ask you something important," Argo said.

"What is it?" Lisbeth asked.

"The only way to escape from SAO is to beat the game, which means that we have to fight all the way to the top of Aincrad and kill the Final Boss on Floor 100," Argo explained. "What I need to know is, are you prepared to risk dying to fight your way out of here?" Argo locked eyes with Lisbeth as she voiced her question.

"Take some time to think about it, there's no rushing these kinds of decisions," I quickly added. "Just know that we'll continue supporting you regardless of what you choose to do."

If SAO was nothing more than a video game, half-assing your way through the game would not be a problem at all. Unfortunately, SAO was a death game where you literally put your life on the line every time you fought. The will to persevere and chase after victory was vital; half-hearted combat only got you killed.

Both Argo and I had decided to wager our lives to clear the game. Would Lisbeth gamble everything and fight by our sides, or would she seek asylum in the confines of the Starting City?

"After talking with you guys last night, I spent some time thinking things through," Lisbeth recounted. "I can't expect anything to change if I sit around and do nothing, can I? That's why I decided that I'll do whatever it takes to get out of here, even if it means fighting and possibly dying."

"... It won't be easy, you know," I sighed.

"I know, but I'm not changing my mind." And thus we gained a new comrade in arms. Argo told Lisbeth about our plans to head out to the fields surrounding Starting City to grind, and Lisbeth accepted the invitation to tag along.

* * *

The plan was to leave Starting City and fight the mobs that spawned in the fields surrounding the Safe Area, but our whiskered companion wanted to introduce us to someone before we did that, and so we followed her to a great church with impressive glass windows. Churches were constructed for religious purposes, so did that mean the NPCs were believers of a particular faith? I thought to myself how intriguing it would be to see in-game scenarios based on SAO religion. Argo knocked on the wooden church door using the attached circular handle. Moments later a bespectacled, brown-haired young woman wearing a long navy blue dress with a white collar answered the door; I couldn't help but wonder if all of Argo's friends wore glasses.

"Good morning Argo, what can I do for you?" the young woman asked.

"Hey Sasha," Argo greeted, "meet Lisbeth and LOL. They're new Players I met yesterday. Liz, L, this is Sasha. We go way back." After exchanging pleasantries with Sasha, we were invited into the church. I was mildly surprised to discover a good number of children inside the church; I suspected that the oldest were around twelve and the youngest around seven or eight. Most of the children were extremely depressed. Some of them were sobbing loudly, though a few of the children – mainly the older ones – were trying to cheer up their peers.

Lisbeth and I were told that Sasha took it upon herself to look after all the children trapped in SAO. Not long after the death game began, she began searching for a building large enough to use as a safe haven for all the children trapped in Aincrad, and with Argo's help she found this church and rented out all the available rooms, pretty much going broke in the process. Sasha then put her efforts into searching for children and bringing them to the church.

Looking after the children, however, was a very difficult task. Playing the role of a surrogate mother, Sasha not only had to constantly stay by the children's sides to comfort them, she also had to earn Col to pay for the rent and put food on the table for the many mouths she felt obliged to feed. Of course, it would be pointless to expect the (literally) heartless NPCs who owned the church to exhibit any charity and provide Sasha with the resources she needed – or at least reduce the amount of Col demanded from her. Fortunately, two beta testers who were common friends of Argo and Sasha volunteered to help out with paying for the children's living costs, relieving Sasha of a huge burden.

On a side note, Sasha said that she became acquainted with Argo when they were playing the same MMORPG a few years ago. She missed out on the beta testing of SAO, but learned about how the game worked from her beta tester friends.

* * *

With her hands in her pockets, Argo nonchalantly walked up to a monster. The monster in question was the Frenzy Boar – one of the weakest mobs in the whole of SAO, it was a Passive Monster, which apparently meant that it would only act after being attacked. Unperturbed by the boar's red eyes following her every move Argo began walking in circles in front of the mob as she whistled loudly. While Argo kept the Frenzy Boar's attention on her, Lisbeth and I were careful to stay out of its range of sight as we crept towards it. Stealth played an important part in SAO combat: if you managed to catch an enemy unaware and land a sneak attack, the enemy would receive additional damage. This feature, known as the Sneak Attack Bonus, was one of the new additions to combat after the beta test.

Argo would not interfere in the ensuing fight as she wanted to observe how we'd fair against the mob, though she promised that to step in if any of us were on the verge of losing all of our HP – not that she believed this would happen.

Lisbeth and I agreed that she would launch the first strike and I would follow up the assault. She took a deep breath to calm down her nerves, lunged at the Frenzy Boar and plunged her sword straight into the mob. The attack took out a good chunk of its HP. The boar thrashed around in pain, frightening Lisbeth who let go of her sword, took a few panicked steps backwards, tripped and fell flat on her ass. Her Bronze Sword was still stuck to the mob's body. Seizing the opening Lisbeth created, I sprinted towards the monster and hacked it with my sword, a red trail being left on where I struck. Although my movements were clumsy and unnatural, the attack made the boar recoil in pain. I was about to finish it off for good with a second strike when the Frenzy Boar suddenly rammed into me. Landing on my back, I scrambled to get up as the Frenzy Boar made to charge at me, but it suddenly burst into polygons and Lisbeth's sword fell onto the grassy ground. A status screen popped up, detailing the Exp, Cor and items gained from beating the mob.

"If a weapon remains lodged in a mob's body, its HP will continue to drop over time due to the so-called Continuous Piercing Damage," Argo, who was watching the whole exchange, explained as she bent to pick up Lisbeth's Bronze Sword. "When the mob was about to attack you, its HP was low enough for Continuous Piercing Damage to finish it off. By the way, congrats on your first victory."

I only received light damage so I didn't bother using a Health Potion. Lisbeth was apologetic about her performance, upset that she couldn't help me when I was in a tight spot. I assured her that there was no need to be concerned since I was perfectly fine, and Argo told her that, for two complete beginners, we didn't do too badly. At least Lisbeth did not seem to be intimated by combat, nor did she show any signs of wanting to give up on grinding.

Although SAO was designed to be a very lifelike game, the creators decided to make certain aspects of the game unrealistic. Firstly, pain was replaced by uncomfortable sensations. Secondly, neither Player avatars nor monsters bleed. Thirdly, almost no resistance could be felt when slicing through a monster. It's hard to describe the feeling, but slashing a monster with my Bronze Sword felt like I was cutting through a jelly-like substance. Not that I was complaining – I would indubitably find it much harder to battle in Aincrad if it felt like my weapons was passing through flesh and bones.

Argo gave us some advice for our next battle, and the two of us moved on to Frenzy Boar no.2 – though this time, one of us was responsible for distraction. My partner was keen to redeem herself, so decoy duty fell upon me. Hence, I walked up to the Frenzy Boar and proceeded to spout a whole load of nonsense at it.

"Good day to you Mr. Boar! You are cordially invited to join the glorious gathering at the newly established Animal Farm! Unlike the city of Zootopia, all animals are truly equal (at least for now), so racism does not exist (yet)! I can understand your surprise at this unexpected invitation, but then again, life is full of surprises! Some find themselves suddenly trapped within a virtual reality, while some are stabbed in the back out of the blue!"

The poor boar shrieked loudly as Lisbeth jammed her Bronze Sword into its flesh. This time, Lisbeth did not let go of her sword despite the mob's wild struggle; grabbing onto her weapon with all her might, she twisted the hilt of the sword, causing the monster's HP to deplete at a faster rate. I quickly unsheathed my sword and brought the blade down onto its weak spot, which was the back of its head, putting the boar out of its misery with a Critical Hit as it burst into tiny coloured fragments.

Argo was satisfied that we remembered her advice of twisting stabbed weapons to increase Continuous Piercing Damage and attacking weak points for Critical Hits. Lisbeth and I easily defeated a few more Frenzy Boars afterwards. We were then made to fight a couple mobs without the element of surprise, which was accomplished by Argo hurling Throwing Picks at the boars to provoke them while the two of us met the furious monsters head-on. We would either evade the Frenzy Boars' charges then attack it together, or one of us would block the tackles while the other went for the back of their heads. Even without getting in any sneak attacks, we disposed of the weak creatures with ease. Sometime later, Argo clapped her hands and declared that it was time for a break.

"You guys are doing a really good job," Argo complimented as she drew out a Bronze Dagger. "Now I'm going to show you how to use special attacks called Sword Skills. To activate a Sword Skill, all you have to do is get into the correct stance – known as the Pre-Motion – and the system will take over and automatically execute the attack."

"How do we know what the correct Pre-Motions are?" I asked.

"Open up the Skills sub-menu from the Player Menu and then select the Sword Skills sub-menu. This will open up a list which contains all the Sword Skills you've unlocked; if you click on a Sword Skill, you'll be able to see details about that Sword Skill including the specific Pre-Motion required for activation. However, it'll be impossible to read through the skill descriptions in the middle of a fight so you'll have to memorise the Pre-Motions for your Sword Skills," Argo answered, dexterously twirling the dagger with her fingers.

"Since our weapons are different, wouldn't that mean that we can't use the same Sword Skills?" Lisbeth questioned.

"Yes and no. It's true that you can't unleash Dagger Skills using a One-Handed Sword, and vice versa, but there is a set of Common Sword Skills which can be activated by all weapons. I'm going to demonstrate the Common Sword Skill Horizontal, so watch closely," Argo replied, continuing to twirl her dagger. She tossed her weapon into the air and expertly caught it by the handle when it dropped back down.

Suddenly, she sprinted towards one of the Frenzy Boars that spawned nearby.

Once she got within striking distance, she brought her dagger backwards.

The blade became coated in a bright blue light.

Argo sliced through the mob in inhuman speed, a long red line appearing on its body which indicated where the dagger had struck.

The mob died in one hit.

"And that," Argo said with a smirk, "is how you use a Sword Skill." She bowed as Lisbeth and I applauded her performance.

Lisbeth and I spent a good amount of time practicing the three Sword Skills we had access to – Horizontal, Vertical and Slant. It was quite difficult to cast them while moving, so we started off by activating them from a stationary position. Eventually we were able to use them while mobile, though we struggled to activate them when moving at full speed.

After executing a Sword Skill, the user is forced into a temporary state known as Post-Motion, during which the user cannot move and is vulnerable to counterattacks from the enemy. In addition, using a Sword Skill causes it to enter a Cooling period. A Sword Skill cannot be used again until it finishes 'cooling down'. The penalties associated with using Sword Skills meant that mindlessly spamming Sword Skills was suicidal; it was crucial to grasp the timing to use the right Sword Skill. Fortunately, the Sword Skill penalties are mitigated by a new, post-beta feature known as the Sword Skill Rating system. Whenever you strike an enemy with a Sword Skill, the system will judge the QUALITY of the attack. Landing a 'good' attack will reduce the Post-Motion and Cooling period of the Sword Skill; on the other hand, a 'bad' attack will not shorten Post-Motion or Cooling at all.

So what was a 'good' attack and what was a 'bad' attack? Sneak attacks, Critical Hits, attacks which disarm an opponent and unblocked, direct strikes were considered 'good' while Sword Skills that were blocked or completely missed were defined as 'bad'.

"Why didn't you teach us how to use Sword Skills before we fought those mobs earlier? We would've had a much easier time," Lisbeth asked in the middle of training. It took a couple of normal swings with the Bronze Sword to kill a Frenzy Boar, but one Sword Skill was sufficient in killing one of them.

"During the beta test I saw a lot of Players who thought they could get away with only using Sword Skills in fights. In the end, they had a very hard time battling the many mobs that could defend themselves with their weapons or body parts; their inability at non-Sword Skill combat made it impossible for them to create openings for their Sword Skills. That's why I wanted you to get used to fighting without Sword Skills before teaching you how to fight with them," Argo explained.

* * *

There was no risk of being assaulted since all the mobs were Passive Monsters, plus walking back to Starting City was a massive pain, so the three of us ate lunch in the same grassy field we trained in.

Imagine if the creators got rid of all the mobs and turned Sword Art Online into Picnic Online. Even without the combat element, it's likely that Picnic Online would still be very successful. Anyone who laid eyes on the virtual world of Aincrad would certainly agree that its beauty was truly unparalleled, and that it would be a great place to hang out. Considering how stressful living in a Japanese city can be, I'm sure many of us would appreciate being able to log into the fantastical world after a long day just to relax and wind down. It's a great pity that most of the Players were not in the mood to enjoy the fantastic scenery.

We talked about the different weapons in SAO. According to Argo, she preferred using claws but they were unavailable at the moment so she wielded daggers as a substitute. When the use of shields was brought up, Argo advised us to get used to fighting without shields first, or else we might become over-dependent on them. She encouraged us to try out different weapons and fighting styles to see which one suited us the most.

Although the original plan was to simply grind in the fields around Starting City, the beta tester of the group was keen to scrap that plan and move on to Horunka Village, the settlement closest to Starting City. She felt that grinding on the way to Horunka would be a great way for Lisbeth and I to reinforce what we've learned, and also mentioned that the Quests in Horunka would help us Level Up much more quickly.

"How dangerous is it to travel between Starting City and Horunka Village?" I asked.

"It won't be too dangerous, since I know all about the paths and dangerous places, as well as the mobs and their weaknesses. Unless something's changed since the beta test, we shouldn't have any problems at all," Argo answered. We set off for Horunka Village once we finished lunch, Argo acting as the vanguard of our three-man party as we followed the dirt path to the village.

* * *

The journey went quite smoothly, mostly thanks to Argo, who was not only a very capable fighter but also knowledgeable of the mobs which spawned. Under her guidance, the three of us made a decent team. We were halfway to the next village and had already defeated a variety of monsters by then. My movements were nowhere as fast or as natural as Argo's, but at least I was getting comfortable with fighting in SAO. Unfortunately, at one point I had taken enough damage to warrant the use of a Health Potion. Words cannot express my dislike for that foul liquid! Judging by Lisbeth's comical expression when she consumed her Health Potion, it would be safe to assume that she did not want to drink another one any time soon.

A Dire Wolf spawned not too far behind us and immediately dashed towards our party after appearing, and so we turned to face the hostile beast. Lisbeth and I charged towards the wolf side-by-side, and on Argo's command, we split before the Dire Wolf could pounce on either of us, Lisbeth quickly jumping to the left while I sprang to my right; with its intended target suddenly out of range, the Dire Wolf skid to a stop to readjust itself. A dagger flew through the air and embedded itself into the Dire Wolf. As it howled in pain, Lisbeth and I activated our Sword Skills, the consecutive attacks finishing it off. I picked up Argo's dagger and returned it to her. Next to appear was a Large Wasp which tried to rush Argo with its stinger. She avoided its attack and slashed its wings, immobilising it, and the mob was defeated without any further resistance. After a while we ran into an ugly plant monster known as the Little Nepenthes; I laughed when Argo called it a "Bellsprout rip-off". It swung its vine at us, attempting to maim us with the sharp leave attached to the end of the vine. I blocked with my sword, but was accidentally disarmed by the stronger than anticipated attack. Before the Little Nepenthes could make another move, swift dagger swipes from Argo detached the Little Nepenthes's vines from its body. We proceeded to kill it mercilessly.

We easily defeated a couple more insect type monsters afterwards and were not far from Horunka Village when two Kobold Scouts appeared some distance in front of us, blocking our path. These demi-humans had a canine appearance and were around Lisbeth's height. Each of them was equipped with a scimitar.

"What the hell? These things have never spawned in pairs before!" Argo exclaimed. Each Kobold Scout was Level 5. Argo was Level 3, while Lisbeth and I were Level 2. Needless to say, this was a grim situation.

"Can we outrun them?" I asked with my Bronze Sword unsheathed. I did not want to use it, but I was quite sure that the Kobold Scouts were keen to use their curved blades.

"... Unlikely. We're fighting," Argo answered. "The left one's mine. You and Liz take the other one! Their weakness is their neck. If they use a Sword Skill, block it with a Sword Skill of your own!"

"Here they come!" Lisbeth warned as the Kobold Scouts raised their weapons and charged at us. Argo scored a hit on the Kobold on the left with her Blade Throwing skill, the attack momentarily stunning her target as it screeched in pain. The other Kobold scout attempted to attack Argo who was weaponless, but I intercepted it before it could get within striking distance. My Bronze Sword clashed with its scimitar, and I took some damage because of the Level difference. Argo produced a second Bronze Dagger and ran towards the Kobold Scout which was damaged by her thrown weapon. It yanked out the dagger from its body and tossed it aside. With an angered roar, it met Argo head on.

I yelled for Lisbeth to assault my adversary from behind as I distracted it. The Kobold Scout's swift strikes and my slow reactions were a terrible combination for me: it only took the monster's third swing to overwhelm my poor defence and graze my face. While I was momentarily distracted by the hit to the face, my enemy followed up with a nasty cut to my torso which cost me a sizeable chunk of my HP.

Lisbeth came to my rescue by attacking the mob from behind with Vertical, stunning it. Capitalising on the opportunity, I activated Horizontal, smashing my blade into the monster's torso and knocking it away from me. The two of us managed to take out a good portion of the mob's HP; Lisbeth's attack in particular was defined by the system as a sneak attack, so her Vertical dealt extra damage due to the Sneak Attack Bonus. I suppose we were lucky that the Kobold Scout wasn't wearing armour.

"Are you alright?" Lisbeth asked.

"I'm almost out of HP. I'm counting on you to defend while I heal," I replied, exhausted from fighting the Kobold Scout. I started the fight with around 90% of my HP but the powerful mob had brought that down to less than 20%. The monster got up and charged at us again; Lisbeth moved to engage it while I quickly pulled out a Health Potion and proceeded to empty its contents.

She did lose a good amount of HP due to taking a direct hit to her shoulder, but otherwise she was doing a better job than me at defending against the Kobold Scout's relentless assault as she successfully blocked the next few slashes directed at her, though like me she still accumulated damage when she blocked with her sword because of the Level difference. By the time I was done consuming my Health Potion her HP was at the lower ends of the green zone. I began manoeuvring to a position where I could attack the mob when all of a sudden, the Kobold Scout growled, and its scimitar was enveloped in a blue light – I realized in horror that it was about to use a Sword Skill.

"BLOCK IT!" I yelled desperately, completely forgetting about sneaking up to the Kobold Scout and attacking it. Time seemed to slow down as Lisbeth desperately moved her blade to block the powerful swipe. The shining scimitar smashed into the lacklustre edge of her Bronze Sword, throwing her off balance. As her feet left the ground and her body moved backwards, Lisbeth's HP rapidly plummeted, dropping dangerously close to the red zone. Upon landing, Lisbeth stumbled but somehow managed to regain her footing. She raised her arm and pointed her Bronze Sword behind her to activate Vertical. Seeing Lisbeth perform the Pre-Motion for her Sword Skill snapped me back to action; I hastily closed in on the Kobold Scout as Lisbeth lunged forward. With a yell, she swiftly swung her shining blade downwards. It screamed in agony as a long red gash appeared on its body. The impression of immense pain it showed was satisfying.

Only a sliver of the monster's HP remained.

The mob did not even have a second to recover from Lisbeth's beautiful counterattack – I was already right next to it with a glowing sword in my right hand. A diagonal slash to the Kobold Scout caused it to dissolve into tiny rainbow polygons, and it was all over.

Victory.

Argo killed the other Kobold Scout with a Sword Skill to its abdomen, emerging with at least 70% of her HP intact. Having annihilated her adversary, she was about to interfere in our battle but failed to make it in time before it came to a conclusion. My companions downed a Health Potion each and the three of us sprinted towards the safety of Horunka Village. We were lucky enough to not encounter any more mobs after eliminating the Kobold Scouts and had finally completed the fruitful yet unexpectedly arduous journey.

Horunka Village was a much smaller place than I anticipated. It consisted of a total of 10 buildings: an inn, a weapons shop, a tool shop, a blacksmith's and 6 private NPC houses. The first thing we did after arriving was to head for the inn and rent out two rooms (the girls were happy to share). As the day's grinding session was over, I had quite a bit of free time on my hands. Worn out from fighting and not having anything better to do, I threw my weary body onto my bed and tried to get some shut-eye. Well, emphasis on 'tried to'. Vivid, detailed memories from the earlier battle with the Kobold Scout replaying in my head made it impossible to drift off to a peaceful sleep.

My frantic, yet vain attempt to defend against the Kobold Scout's frenzy attacks.

The Sword Skills Lisbeth and I used in succession against the monster.

The Kobold Scout's Sword Skill which nearly killed Lisbeth.

Lisbeth's amazing retaliation and my follow-up attack that brought the desperate struggle to an end.

Looking back, I would say that we both fought admirably for two underleveled beginners. On the other hand, I realised that the two of us were responsible for making mistakes which resulted in the fight being even more difficult and dangerous.

After Lisbeth had snuck up behind the Kobold Scout and attacked it with her Sword Skill, the mob was temporarily incapacitated. I seized the opening to use a Sword Skill, but I completely forgot to aim for its weakness – its neck – and attacked its torso. This meant that I wasted the perfect opportunity to land a critical hit on it.

Remember when the Kobold Scout tried to attack Lisbeth with a Sword Skill? The way she responded to that was wrong. She really should have cancelled out the attack with a Sword Skill of her own instead of simply blocking the hit with her weapon; if that was what she did, she would have been able to avoid taking as much damage.

I also reacted erroneously to the Kobold Scout's Sword Skill. It was foolish of me to yell at Lisbeth to block the Sword Skill and then do nothing. I should have immediately intervened by attacking the Kobold Scout. It's true that I may not be quick enough to stop the Kobold Scout's Sword Skill anyways even if I tried to step in, but consider this: what if the Kobold Scout did not activate a 1-hit Sword Skill but had used a multi-hit Sword Skill? Even if I were too slow to stop the first hit, surely there was a chance that I could stop the second hit, and an even greater chance that I could stop the third?

We were lucky that our errors did not cost us our live, but next time lady fortune may be on the enemy's side. Moving forward, it was imperative that Lisbeth and I learned from our mistakes. I got out of bed and made for Lisbeth's room. What better time to hold a _hansei-kai_ (reflection meeting) than now, when the battle was still fresh in our minds?

On the other hand, while we still had a long way to go, we were able to make immense progress within a day. If we continued to improve at this rate, perhaps it would not be long before we were ready to take on this level's Floor Boss.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy New Year to you all and thank you for reading.**

 **I've come up with a few innovations of my own regarding to combat system, namely the Sword Skill Rating System and the Sneak Attack Bonus. There will be a couple more brand new additions to the combat system which will be explained in the upcoming chapters.**

 **For those who have forgotten, Lisbeth's appearance at the start of the game are different from when she meets Kirito. The way she looks at this point of the story is based on her cameo in episode 1 of the anime.**

 **We all know that Lisbeth uses a mace and a shield, but who's to say that she started off with that specific combination?**

 **Many of the characters in this fanfic will develop fighting styles of their own; our OC protagonist is no exception.**

 **What kind of a fighter is LOL? What is his weapon of choice? How does he approach his fights? How strong will he become? I invite you to use your imagination to answer these questions. Let's see if your guesses come close to what I've planned for this character...**

 **As usual, thank you for reading and I hope that you've enjoyed.**


	3. Plants vs Argo (and friends)

Chapter 3 – Plants vs. Argo (and friends)

"Where's Argo?"

"She just left – you must've just missed her. Anyways, have a seat," Liz said as she closed the door of the inn room she and Argo shared. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Today was our first time fighting in SAO and I was wondering how you felt about it."

"Oh, it wasn't easy at first but I think that I'm getting the hang of it. What about you?" She asked.

"I've definitely improved since the start of the game, though my movements are still very awkward. Sometimes I can't help but feel like a complete malco," I said with a sigh. "I can't believe how Argo's able to move so quickly and fluidly – she's on a completely different level."

"Yeah, Argo's really amazing. It's reassuring to have her as our mentor."

There was a short silence before I proceeded with my next question.

"Hey Liz, did you feel scared when we were fighting earlier? Were you fearful of dying?"

"Hmm... I was quite worried at the beginning, but I was fine after a while. I was so focused on defeating the mobs that I'd actually forgotten about being afraid of death. Even when we were fighting the Kobold Scouts, the possibility of dying didn't cross my mind; it was only after we arrived at Horunka Village when I realised that we had been in a near-death situation," Liz replied. "I suppose I wasn't as scared as I thought I'd be because of how unrealistic combat in SAO felt."

I was worried about the possibility that Liz might be traumatised by the close call earlier, but it seemed that I was mistaken about the situation.

"Considering how much of a psychopath Kayaba Akihiko is, I'm glad that he decided not to make the battles lifelike. Anyways, there's something else I want to discuss with you: even though we've made good progress today, I noticed that the two of us made quite a few mistakes due to our inexperience. There's nothing unusual about a beginner doing a couple of things wrongly, but we'll need to address these issues so we don't repeat them in the future."

"Yes, that's fair enough. Now that you mention it, I remember a few things we could've done better. For example ..."

* * *

"I'm back – ooh, am I interrupting something?" Argo implied scandalously. I didn't even have to look at her to know that she was wearing her iconic shit-eating grin.

"Woman, get your mind out of the gutter. We were simply having a civic conversation," I replied with a deadpan.

"What're you talking about then?" Argo asked while removing her hood.

"We were talking about fighting in SAO and trying to pick up on things we could improve on," Liz helpfully answered.

"How very diligent! Argo Sensei is proud of you two."

"Actually, there is something I want your opinion on, _Sensei_ ," I said in reply. "A couple months before the release of SAO, Kayaba Akihiko said something in an interview that caught my attention. He said that in SAO, a Player's Level isn't everything; other factors aside from a Player's stats determine one's true battle prowess. What do you make of that?"

"That's nothing new at all. Have you ever played an MMORPG or MOBA before?"

"SAO's my first MMORPG, but I've played a couple of MOBAs like LOL."

"I should've expected LOL to have played LOL. Anyways, you should know that in those kinds of games, it's not uncommon for people to get their asses kicked by someone who's lower levelled but more skilled. That can also happen in SAO," Argo explained. "For example, during the beta test, a friend of mine singlehandedly defeated five other Players – who were more or less his Level – all at the same time."

"Woah, dude sounds like a badass. Why'd he participate i match in the first place though?" Liz asked.

"Those five Players were picking on someone who was lower Levelled than them, so he decided to step in and teach them a lesson."

Kind and strong, huh? What a deadly combination.

"Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that there are other qualities, such as teamwork, reaction speed, knowledge and foresight which matter as much as the stats that your stats. You'll slowly develop these qualities as you keep fighting, but there is also another way to improve more quickly," Argo said.

"And that other method is?"

"Training, in the form of sparring with your fellow Players."

"Wait, are you telling us to fight each other? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Liz asked, surprised.

"Oh, are you hesitant about sparring with each other in a death game? You won't lose HP within the Safe Area so there's no need to worry; in fact, the only way to lose HP in a Safe Area would be through a proper Duel. Also, sparring is a good way to test out any new weapons you get. Speaking of new weapons, you should go to the blacksmith's and get your new swords enhanced before we head out tomorrow," Argo advised.

The weapon she was referring to was the Iron Scimitar, an item which the three of us obtained as a monster drop from the Kobold Scouts. Compared to the Bronze Sword I'd been using, the curved blade had higher attack power and durability.

"We might as well go to the blacksmith's now, or else we may forget about it later," I suggested to Liz. She nodded in agreement.

"While you're at it, buy some Throwing Picks. They'll be useful for hunting tomorrow. Also, you should get some better armour, and don't forget to restock on Health Potions."

"Yes, mum," I said in a singsong voice as Liz and I left the room. I sold my Fur Chestplate and Fur Boots to the NPC and purchased a Leather Coat, Leather Boots and Leather Gauntlets. I also bought a good number of Health Potions and per Argo's suggestion, a pack of Throwing Picks.

"Hey Liz, I know that you're exhausted from grinding earlier today, but do you want to try sparring with me?" I asked after we had enhanced our Iron Scimitars at the blacksmith's.

"Sure, it's not like we have anything better to do anyways."

Standing a small distance apart, we equipped our Iron Scimitars and faced each other. An epic struggle then ensued, in which I ultimately emerged as the victor by shattering Liz's weapon into pieces...

I'd be lying if I said that. What really happened was that the battle turned into an awkward staring contest since neither of us dared to do anything. Although our HP would remain intact due to the damage immunity of the Safe Zone, and pain was substituted with slight discomfort in SAO, both of us were uncomfortable with the idea of striking each other.

"Uh... ladies first?" I weakly offered.

"Hey, you're the one who suggested sparring! Shouldn't YOU be the one to lead?" Liz retorted exasperatedly.

"This is amusing and painful to watch at the same time." We whipped our heads to see Argo's face sticking out from the window of her inn room. "If you guys really are so reluctant to battle each other, I may have a solution to the problem."

"And what would that be?" Liz asked.

"Instead of sparring with each other, why don't you two team up to fight me?" Argo suggested.

"How would that make a difference? We're uncomfortable with fighting each other, and we'd feel just as bad about attacking you."

"Aw Liz, it's sweet of you to care about little ol' me, but there's no need to worry at all, because you two can't so much as touch me even if you tried," Argo cockily said. She jumped out of the window, landed on her feet and drew her dagger.

"Come at me seriously, I'll show how good a beta tester can be."

 _... Well, she is a beta tester, so she knows what she's doing. I probably won't have to worry about hitting her... right?_

I exchanged an unsure glance with Liz but ultimately decided to make the first move by charging at Argo and swiping at her with my scimitar. Argo's response was to duck beneath the admittedly half-hearted sword swing; at the same time, her dagger shone a bright, bluish light.

 _Shit, that's a Swo –_

Before I could finish the thought, I was sent flying backwards and landed on the ground with a thud.

"I did tell you to come at me seriously," Argo remarked with a confident grin.

Liz ran at Argo and slashed at her, putting much more force behind her attack than I did. Argo parried the Iron Scimitar and swiftly activated the Sword Skill Slant, striking Liz with the glowing dagger before she could even react.

"See? I told you not to worry about hurting me," Argo cheekily commented as we picked ourselves up.

"Dammit, she's too quick," Liz said.

"We'll have to use Sword Skills as well. I'll try to create an opening, so attack her when you get the chance," I said as I lowered my stance and raised my Iron Scimitar above my shoulder. The curved weapon gave off an orange light, and I activated the Sword Skill Reaver.

Argo's speed was impressive, but surely it could not match the speed of a Sword Skill?

I lunged at Argo and thrust my blade, but to my surprise I impaled nothing but air. Argo had avoided the Sword Skill by jumping to my side; taking advantage of the Cooling period of my Sword Skill, she delivered a sideways kick to my ribs, creating some distance between us.

Once again, I found myself sprawled out on the ground. Liz followed up my failed assault with a Vertical, but that was also a vain attempt. In one quick motion, Argo sidestepped the descending blade and twisted her body so that her dagger hung dangerously next to Liz's neck. This unexpected manoeuvre caused my partner to flinch.

"You're wide open," Argo whispered menacingly. I had gotten up from the ground and was within striking range, but I couldn't do anything since I wasn't confident that I could strike Argo without hitting Liz, who had effectively become my mentor's hostage.

Without warning, Argo drove a fist into Liz's stomach, causing her to take a few steps backwards. I quickly activated the Sword Skill Slant, but Argo avoided the attack by hopping to her side. She then chucked her glowing dagger at me. My back was reintroduced to the earth with the dagger's hilt sticking out of my shoulder.

"I yield, I yield," I said as I raised both hands in surrender. I was too physically exhausted to continue enduring Argo's merciless beat down.

"Although Sword Skills are fast because of the system assist, an experienced Player can counter them if they recognise the Pre-Motions," Argo commented as I removed her dagger from my shoulder. "Well, that was a flawless victory if I say so myself."

"How are you so much quicker than us? We're only one Level apart," Liz asked.

"In terms of movement speed, I'm not that much faster. However, my reactions are better than you two," Argo explained as she caught the dagger I tossed at her. "Also, I've been using Sword Skills so much that the Pre-Motions have pretty much become part of my muscle memory, while you two have only begun using Sword Skills today, so it's no wonder that I can transition from normal movements into the Pre-Motions and activate Sword Skills more quickly than you two. At the end of the day, it boils down to me having more experience. Anyways, you guys must be pretty tired so just take it easy for now."

"In that case, I found something in the Tool Shop which will help us kill some time," I said, gaining my companions' attention.

* * *

"One Jack."

"One Queen."

"Two Kings," I declared while placing two playing cards face down on top of a large pile of discarded playing cards. Neither Argo nor Lisbeth acted in response.

At the moment we were locked into an intense game of Bullshit (otherwise known as Cheat or I-Doubt-It). For those unfamiliar with it, the aim of the game is to get rid of all the cards you've been dealt. Each player takes turns discarding cards in ascending order of rank: the first player discards Aces, the second discards Twos, the third discards Threes, and so on. Each player can lay down more than one of the same cards at a time.

The fun part of the game is that the cards are discarded face down, so you can actually lie about the cards you get rid of. Let's say that it's my turn and I'm required to put down at least one Nine; I can claim that I'm laying down a face down Nine while in reality, I'm placing a face down Seven.

The others will have to figure out whether the person putting down the card is lying or not. If you think somebody is bluffing, you can call them out by yelling "bullshit!" (Feel free to point and yell "Objection!" as if you're a lawyer with spiky hair). If your accusation is correct and you expose the other player for lying, the liar will have to add all of the discarded cards to their hand; however, if your accusation is false then YOU will have to pick up every single discarded card.

"Two Aces."

"Three Twos." Argo's move was met with a couple of raised eyebrows but Liz and I chose not to voice our suspicions.

"One fi – I meant one Three."

My expression must have been similar to that of a deer caught in headlights. Liz on the other hand looked like a tigress which had cornered its prey. There was a triumphant, yet malicious gleam in her eyes. Argo simply wore her trademark Cheshire cat grin. Ironically enough, of the two girls in the room, the one who was giving off the predator vibes wasn't the one who had whiskers painted on her face.

"Hey Liz, we're friends, right? Can you let me go, just this once? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?" I pleaded.

"Sorry pal, I'm not gonna ignore this."

The tigress bared her fangs.

"Come on Liz, don't do this to me. If you show me mercy, my brothers and I will sing praise of thy magnanimity for the rest of eternity! Show me kindness, and I swear to repay you by coming to your aid at the time of your greatest need!"

"As passionate as that was, I'm not changing my mind," Liz said with a smug look.

The tigress prepared to pounce.

"You fiend! Have you no heart!? What goes around surely comes around. You will one day regret the cruelness you have exhibited this day!"

"Hah, I could care less. I'm calling bullshit!"

The tigress leapt!

With a defeated sigh, I slowly extended my hand towards the recently discarded playing card. My hand hovered hesitatingly over the card for a second before making contact with it. Liz watched closely as I revealed the card's contents, an evil smile plastered on her face. She was confident that the card would be anything but a Three.

Too bad, because she was wrong!

The tigress missed and stumbled off a cliff while the sly old fox lived to see another day.

Liz silently stared at the card for a few seconds with her mouth hanging wide. She was looking at it as if it was some kind of alien monstrosity.

"Y-you tricked me!" Liz yelled while glaring daggers at me. She was absolutely fuming. On the other hand, Argo and I were having the time of our lives laughing at her.

"I did say that you'd regret accusing me, you just wouldn't listen," I taunted Liz as she dejectedly added the large pile of discarded Playing Cards to her hand.

"L?"

"What is it?"

"Shut up."

Long story short, Liz did not win that game.

* * *

"Okay, I'll go to the forest and look for the Little Nepenthes' Ovule." With that, my conversation with the NPC villager drew to an end, and I was free to go and complete the Quest I had just received.

Argo decided that it would be in our interests to complete a Quest known as the Secret Medicine of the Forest, a Quest which was activated by conversing with an NPC housewife. Said NPC housewife's daughter was victim to an illness which could only be cured with medicine created from the Little Nepenthes' Ovule, a rare monster drop from the Little Nepenthes which inhabited the forest west of Horunka Village. According to little miss she-who-knows-it-all, the reward from completing the Quest was a one-handed sword called the Anneal Blade. Apparently it would be good enough to last its user the first few Floors of Aincrad.

"Is there anything we should know about the Quest before trying to complete it?" Liz asked.

"Yup, there are a few of things you guys should be aware of. First of all, do you remember what a Little Nepenthes is?"

"It's not easy to forget something you so passionately referred to as a 'fugly Bellsprout rip-off'," I answered with a deadpan. Both Liz and Argo giggled at the memory.

"There are three types of Little Nepenthes in total. The one you saw yesterday is what we call a Normal Nepenthes. There's an alternate version of the Little Nepenthes with a red flower blooming on top of its head; only the Flower-bearing Nepenthes will drop the Little Nepenthes' Ovule which we need to complete the quest, so those are our targets. Finally, there's a third version of the Little Nepenthes which has a red fruit attached to its head. If you're unlucky enough to see one of these Fruit-bearing Nepenthes, do not – I repeat – do not attempt to fight it."

"What's so dangerous about the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes?" I couldn't help but ask.

"If you so much as scratch the fruit, it will burst open and release a strong smell which attracts A HUGE NUMBER OF NEPENTHES towards it. At this point of the game, being surrounded by dozens of those things is pretty much a guaranteed death. In fact, someone's already died from attacking one of the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes."

"Wait, what!? When did that happen?"

"On the first day, though from what I've heard, that person deserved it. He was trying to kill another Player using the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes but got killed instead."

"What happened to the Player who got set up?" Liz asked.

"Fortunately, he managed to escape. He's a friend of mine, so I'm glad that he was alright."

The possibility of Players murdering one another was something I had considered, but to think that such an atrocity would occur on the first day of the death game!

"Anyways, let's not get distracted. The Normal Nepenthes are extremely common. The Fruit-bearing and Flower-bearing Nepenthes, however, are very rare – there's only a one percent chance that either of them will spawn. Also, you can increase the spawn rate of the Flower-bearing Nepenthes and Fruit-bearing Nepenthes by killing lots of the Normal Nepenthes. If you happen to find a Flower-bearing Nepenthes, make sure you kill it as quickly or possible, or else it will turn into a Fruit-bearing Nepenthes.

One more thing: the Little Nepenthes in the western forest are capable of spitting poison. Whenever they make a gurgling sound while pulling their pitchers backwards, that's your cue to dodge. The poison is a ranged attack, so make sure you dodge sideways. Not only will you lose HP if you're hit by the Nepenthes' venom, your equipment will take quite a bit of durability damage, and your movements will become a little slower for a while.

Well, that's everything that you need to know. Let's make this a successful hunt."

* * *

"I forgot to mention this earlier, but we'll be hunting the Little Nepenthes in two groups. You two will work together while I fight solo," Argo said as we headed towards the western forest.

"Wouldn't it be quicker if we fought as a trio?" I asked.

"That may be true, but then that'd be a waste of a training opportunity for you two. You'll develop as a fighter more quickly if you try to overcome your challenges with your own strength.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Besides, it'd be bad if you two were to become dependent on me. You never know when a handsome young man will sweep me off my feet and whisk me away, and when that happens you two won't be able to rely on me anymore," Argo said dramatically.

"Don't worry, Argo. I wouldn't want Liz to be all alone so I won't do that," I replied with a grin.

"Excuse me sir, I believe you have misheard me. I said 'handsome young man', not 'teenager with less charm than a doorknob."

"Nobody's gonna sweep you off your feet if you keep acting like that."

"I thought guys like it when girls play hard to get?" Liz asked with a smirk.

"Nah, dealing with someone like that's too much effort. I'm more of a 'path-of-least-resistance' person."

"You'll have to try harder if you want to end up with someone amazing like Argo or me."

"Haha, if you say so."

* * *

The Little Nepenthes were blind creatures which entirely depended on smell for detection. This meant that an ambush was unlikely to be successful – a pity, considering the ample cover provided by the forest's vegetation. To compensate, Liz and I had devised a strategy for dealing with the Nepenthes: whenever we found one of them, we would adopt a pincer movement in which one of us manoeuvred to the monster's left while the other advanced to its right so that we could simultaneously attack both of the monster's flanks. Since the Nepenthes were only capable of targeting a single person per attack, and there was an interval between its assaults, at least one of us would be able to attack the mob unhindered. This was evidently successful, as we were able to defeat the Nepenthes before it could launch a second attack in every single battle so far.

The drawback for this strategy, however, was that the person whom the Nepenthes decided to target potentially could not react to the attack quickly enough.

"Argh!" I yelled as the Little Nepenthes' spat venom hit me square on the chest, the viscous fluid knocking me to the ground. I saw the attack coming, but my body just couldn't move fast enough to avoid it. Liz swiftly closed the distance between the monster and her, and stunned it with Horizontal. Despite the thick, poisonous fluid slowing down my movements, I was able to lunge at the Nepenthes and defeat it with vertical before it could do recover.

That was our twelfth Nepenthes kill. After our enemy burst into colourful fragments, I reluctantly pulled out a Health Potion and forced myself to down its contents, acid dripping from my body. Liz kept watch for enemies.

I contemplated our method for hunting the Little Nepenthes. Offensively, the pincer movement was brilliant since there was a 100% chance of either Liz or I landing a Sword Skill on the Nepenthes, ceteris paribus. Defensively, however, the manoeuvre had an element of uncertainty as there was no way of knowing who the Nepenthes would attack: there was literally a fifty-fifty chance of being the monster's unlucky target. Our reactions weren't always fast enough to prevent us from being hit by the monsters' attacks, but there wasn't much we could do about that at the moment. The only way to improve our reaction time was through regular training, and that was more of a long-term thing.

 _Wait a second. There might not be anything we can do to immediately improve the quickness of our reactions, but there are things we can do to make it easier to react. If we can figure out who the Nepenthes will attack, dodging will become much easier..._

"Hey, are you alright? You were spacing out," Liz said, waving a hand in front of my face.

"I was thinking of a better way to hunt the Little Nepenthes. Interested?"

"Of course! So, what've you got in mind?"

"Our current strategy involves flanking the Nepenthes, but the problem with this is that we have no idea who it will attack, which makes it difficult to dodge its attacks, right?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"Instead of moving together, one of us can act as a decoy. Once the decoy draws the Nepenthes' first attack, the other person will be free to charge in and wreak havoc. Since we know for sure that the decoy will be attacked, there will be no uncertainty regarding who the target is, and so dodging will become easier. At the same time, just like the pincer movement, the decoy strategy pretty much guarantees that one of us will be able to attack the Nepenthes so it's as offensively effective as our previous strategy," I explained.

"That's a great idea! Let's go with that."

* * *

Over an hour had gone by since we began our hunt for the Little Nepenthes' Ovule, yet despite slaying Nepenthes after Nepenthes, Liz and I had yet to find the Flower-bearing Nepenthes. Our new hunting approach did not completely prevent us from taking hits, but the number of failed evasions did decrease markedly.

Although we still had sufficient Health Potions, we were getting quite exhausted from the non-stop battles, and our equipment durability had decreased by a fair amount. At least we had managed to accumulate enough EXP to advance to Level 3, and were making good progress towards the next level.

"L, there's another one over there. Are you ready?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, I'll be the decoy this time," I answered. Before we could engage the Nepenthes, however, a knife suddenly embedded itself into the pitcher portion of its body. As it reared back while roaring in pain, Argo ran up to the monster and defeated it using a second dagger. It was only after the mob burst into tiny fragments when Argo noticed us.

"Oops, did I steal your kill? Sorry about that," she apologised sheepishly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Have you found a Little Nepenthes' Ovule yet?" I asked.

"Yup, got one from a Flower-bearing Nepenthes a minute ago. What about you two? Have you found one yet?"

"Zero, zilch, nada. We're also getting pretty tired, and our equipment durability's quite low," I answered. "I'm not sure how much longer we can keep going on. Even though we've got loads of time on our hands, we'll probably run out of stamina before we get two more of the Little Nepenthes' Ovules."

"Hmm... in that case, I'll try something which, if successful, will speed up our hunt for the Quest Items. I'll need some time to prepare for it, so in the meantime you two should head back to Horunka Village. Buy and repair whatever you need, and take a short break. When you're done with that, wait for me somewhere in the plains between this forest and Horunka Village then send me a PM. I'll meet you guys there."

"What're you planning?" Liz asked.

"Heh, who knows?"

* * *

"What do you think Argo's up to?"

"Dunno, but whatever she's thinking of is supposed to speed things up. Frankly, I'm getting sick of this Quest so that would be much appreciated," I answered.

Having replenished our stock of Health Potions and repaired our equipment at the blacksmith's, we were waiting for Argo in the grassy field between Horunka Village and the western forest. Occasionally a mob would spawn and approach us, and we'd defeat without too much difficulty.

"Hey, I just got a PM from Argo," Liz suddenly declared.

"What does it say?"

"She said that she'll be coming over to meet us now. Also, she's currently being chased by a monster, but that's part of her plan so don't interfere."

"What the hell?"

"My thoughts exactly," Liz replied, shrugging.

Seconds later, we saw Argo bolt out of the forest with one of the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes she warned us about in hot pursuit. She pulled something out from her inventory and chucked it behind her so that the item landed right in front of the pursuing monster. Whatever the item was, it managed to distract the Nepenthes from chasing after Argo; instead, it attacked the item with its sharp leaves a couple of times before devouring it whole. Meanwhile, Argo slowed down to a trot as she approached us, unperturbed by the carnage occurring behind her. For someone who was being chased a moment ago, she did not look concerned at all.

"...What just happened?" A dumbfounded Liz asked.

"Oh, that was an Escape Item. As the name suggests, it helps you escape from mobs by distracting them; they sell those in Horunka," Argo explained.

"You said that being chased by the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes was intentional?" I questioned Argo.

"Yeah, I was luring it to this spot. Now, I'll to tell you all about my little plan, so listen closely. I'm going to attack the Nepenthes over there and break open its fruit," Argo said while pointing at the monster which had been chasing her moments ago. The three of us were currently outside its range of detection. "Doing so will attract something between twenty to thirty Nepenthes towards this location. I want you two to stay out of range so that I'm the only person the Nepenthes will attack."

"Do you have a death wish?" I asked, bewildered.

"I happen to have an obsession with staying alive. Anyways, while I play tag with my new Nepenthes friends, you two will pick them off one by one. Use a Throwing Pick to lure one away from the crowd towards you guys, beat the crap out of it, rinse and repeat. If you see any Flower-bearing Nepenthes, make sure you prioritize them, less they turn into another one of the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes. If that happens, we're fucked."

"I can see the merits of this plan, but are you sure you want to put yourself in such a dangerous position?" I questioned.

"Acting the decoy would be suicidal inside the forest, but there's plenty of space to manoeuvre out here so I'll be fine. So, you guys ready?"

"Yup."

"Anytime."

"Then let's do this! Operation 'Plants vs. Argo (and friends)' is a go!"

* * *

"Cheers!"

Argo's plan went without a hitch. Among the twenty-eight Nepenthes which spawned, two of them were of the flower-bearing variety, so we were able to complete the Quest. We were currently celebrating the success of our first Quest in SAO in the tavern in Horunka Village.

"We've still got quite a bit of daylight left. Should we try reaching the next settlement?" Liz asked. Argo took a few gulps out of her mug before answering.

"No, we'll be going back to Starting City. I got a message from Clausewitz saying that the strategy guide's ready for distribution, so that'll be our priority."

"Great! So when are we leaving, straight after lunch?" I asked.

"Actually, we won't be heading out until night time; we'll be acting in secret while the rest of the world's fast asleep."

"Why the delay? Shouldn't we make sure that the info guides be distributed as soon as possible, to as many people as possible?"

"Ah, this will take quite a while to explain so bear with me. Being involved in the creation or distribution of the strategy guide effectively makes you an informant, and I speak from my experience as an info broker during the beta test when I say that dealing with information can be fun but perilous. You see, the most difficult part of my job was gathering the correct information quickly; however, the most dangerous part was spreading information without putting myself at too much risk. Can you guess where I'm going with this?"

"You think that distributing the info guide might be dangerous to us?" I asked. Argo responded with a wry smile.

"Let's say that a group of Players learn about a Quest after reading the strategy guide and try to complete it. Even with sufficient information and preparation, the group fails the Quest. Half of them are killed in the process while the remaining few barely escape. The three survivors are so pained by their loss that they become hysterical. They start looking for someone to point the finger at so that they can take out their emotions on that person – and who better to blame than the one who wrote about the Quest in the first place?"

"... Shit, I never thought about it like that," I confessed. "So the reason you insisted on secrecy was to protect us from the potential backlash?"

"Good to see that you understand. We won't be getting much sleep tonight so make sure you get some rest this afternoon."

* * *

My previous assumption that it was impossible to navigate at night turned out to be mistaken. The first Floor of Aincrad was designed in a way that some form of natural light source was readily available once the sun had set.

The trip back to Starting City was uneventful. We were able to outrun most of the mobs we encountered, and whatever we couldn't outrun we defeated with little effort.

Since it was late at night, the many NPC stalls were devoid of buyers and sellers alike. We did pass by a couple of people (I assumed that they were fellow Players), though neither of them paid us any heed – not that we wanted their attention anyways.

The inn room which served as Argo's base was even messier than last time. It was literally impossible to get to anywhere else in the room without stepping on the heaps of paper scattered on the wooden floor. Clausewitz was the room's sole resident, and he was once again too focused on his thoughts to notice his visitors. This meant that he wasn't aware of Argo's maliciously gleeful expression, or the fact that she was silently unsheathing her dagger. Argo hurled her weapon at Clausewitz, the blade shining missing his nose by a hair's breadth.

Liz was flabbergasted, Clausewitz was so shocked that he fell off his chair, and Argo and I were laughing our asses off.

"There are more normal methods to gain someone's attention," Clausewitz grumbled as he picked himself off the ground.

"Meh, normality is overrated," Argo said as she walked over to her friend, unperturbed that she was stepping all over the papers covering the floor. "So, you got the goods?"

"Yeah, I'm counting on you," Clausewitz answered as he opened up the Trade Menu.

"By the way, our newest member is standing right there, so why don't you say 'hi'?" Argo jerked her head in our direction as she accepted the Trade Request.

"You're Lisbeth, right? Argo's told me about you," Clausewitz said as he sent her a Friend Request.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you," Liz greeted politely.

"Likewise. Now, I'd like to discuss the distribution of the strategy guide with you two, but I'm willing to answer any queries you may have before we start that conversation."

"Generally speaking, how are the other Players in Starting City doing?" I asked.

"There hasn't been much change since the first day as most of the Players are either too scared to do anything, or have no idea what they should be doing, although I heard that small bands of Players have ventured to the fields outside Starting City to try their hands at SAO combat. Hopefully their success will encourage other Players to fight as well. On a side note, Sasha's been diligently gathering children and looking after them. The church is large enough to accommodate all of them, and we're able to generate enough Cor to provide food for the children, but there's not much we can do about their emotional states," Clausewitz reported.

"I see, thanks for the detailed answer. That's all I wanted to know."

"I don't have any questions," Liz added.

"Then I'll clarify your roles with regards to the strategy guide distribution. We have enough people handing out the guides in Starting City, so you two, along with Argo, will be responsible for going to the other main settlements and ensuring that copies of the Info Guide are available for other Players to collect by the time they arrive. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm making you go through the bother of distributing Info Guides in other settlements when we can ensure that everyone in Starting City gets a copy of the Info Guide. Well, there are two reasons for that: firstly, the strategy guide one finds in a particular settlement pertains to information relating to that area. The guide given out in Starting city and the one given out in Horunka Village are different. The second reason is to keep the identity of those who are involved in the creation and distribution of the Info Guide a secret, and I'm sure that Argo's explained the dangers of handling information and the need for secrecy."

"That she did. Well, our task sounds straightforward enough."

"Unfortunately, there is a complication which needs to be addressed. Open up your maps of the 1st Floor." We did as instructed. "As you can see, the Starting City's on the southern end of the map. The 1st Floor Labyrinth is on the northern end of the map, and anyone who wishes to challenge the Labyrinth must first reach Tolbana Town, the Safe Zone closest to the Labyrinth. There are theoretically two ways to get there: travel northeast through the lake region, or northwest through the forest region. However, the mobs in the lake region are very high-levelled which makes that path very dangerous, even for a party of beta testers, so anyone with half a brain would choose the north-western route. Do you follow me so far?"

"Yes, please continue explaining."

"If one were to travel via the north-western route, the closest Safe Zone would be Horunka Village, and from there on, the next closest resting spot would be Splitura Village. The problem is that the path then forks into two, and it is possible to reach Tolbana Town via either path. There are a couple of different villages on each path, with different Quests found in these villages. We'll need to ensure that the strategy guide pertaining to a particular settlement is ready for distribution before the majority of Players arrive at that settlement so as to support their progress, but by my estimations it will take too long for the three of you to travel from Splitura Village to Tolbana Town and then come back the other way; most of the Players will have reached that point by then. Thus, the only option will be for you three to temporarily split up after you reach Splitura. Unfortunately, everyone's got their hands full, so we have nobody to pair up with the singled out person, which means that one of you will have to operate solo."

"You're positive that there's no other way?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but this is the only solution I can think of."

"Oh well, it can't be helped. In that case, I volunteer as tribute," I said with a hand raised.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and sorry for the slow update. I simply had too much schoolwork to deal with.**

 **Covering every single Floor on Aincrad is impossible so there will be time skips here and there.**

 **I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and once again, thank you for reading.**


	4. New companions

Ch.4 - New companions

Despite my companions' misgivings, it was ultimately agreed that Argo and Liz would travel together while I would act on my own and attempt to join another party. It wouldn't be wise for Argo to be the odd one out, since a party of only Liz and I was incapable of travelling all the way from Splitura Village to Tolbana Town; the two of us weren't good enough yet. As for Liz, I was reluctant to leave her on her own. Argo and I did promise Liz that she would "never be alone" for the duration of the death game; I felt like I'd be breaking that promise if Liz were forced to play solo, even if temporarily.

Once our meeting with Clausewitz had been concluded, the three of us returned to Horunka Village and pushed on to the next safe zone, Splitura Village, after a brief rest, reaching the area without any major obstacles. We quickly rented out a couple of inn rooms and went straight to bed.

* * *

"You know how much I hate the idea of ya travelling alone, right?" Argo said. We had completed all the available Quests in Splitura Village the next day, and the girls were about to leave for the next safe zone. The road ahead was split into two: one led to Malonna Village while the other one led to Merrona Village; my destination was the former while the girls' was the latter.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything too stupid," I replied. "I'm actually more worried about Liz. It can't be fun having no one to talk with except for a rare animal which mysteriously knows how to speak huma – ouch." Argo elbowed me in the side.

"I'm sure she's happier now that a huge pain in the neck's gone. Ain't that the truth, Liz?" Argo retorted.

"You two are equally annoying," Liz said with a smirk. There was a short silence before Argo spoke again.

"Well, goodbye for now."

"Stay safe," Liz added. "See you in Tolbana Town."

"Don't miss me too much."

"We won't!" Argo and Liz answered together, smiling.

I knew I was going to miss them – not that I would ever admit that out loud.

Clausewitz believed the Players in the Town of Beginnings would be content with just reaching Horunka Village and were unlikely to advance to Splitura until the next day; his prediction turned out to be true. Hence, I had the rest of the day, as well as the entire village, to myself. I took the opportunity to try out a new weapon and bought a Bronze Rapier from the weapons store. While my new weapon's stats weren't as good as the Anneal Blade and Iron Scimitar in my possession, it was sufficient to give me a taste of the rapier class weapons in SAO.

Argo's strategy guide helpfully included a detailed tutorial on how to use different weapons; there were even a few diagrams illustrating ideal stances and movements for each available weapon type. Apparently, rapier combat in SAO was similar to fencing IRL – not that I'd know since I'd never fenced before. Contrary to popular belief, rapiers can function as a slashing weapon, depending on the sword's design. However, the rapiers available at the start of SAO were of the thrusting variety, as the tip of the blade did more damage than the rest of it, so fighting with the Bronze Rapier involved a lot more jabbing and less slashing. My first impression was that compared to other one-handed swords, the rapier fighting style was much more dynamic, with a greater emphasis on footwork. Since good timing was required to pull off this combat style, it felt like rapier-class weapons had a relatively sharper learning curve.

I took my time getting used to the pre-motions for rapier skills before engaging the monsters outside the village. Without a partner, I had to play things safe: I only fought one enemy at a time and I made sure to do so near the safe zone. Whenever things started getting dangerous I'd ditch my opponent and run into the village. Conveniently, mobs were incapable of detecting Players within a safe zone, so once the pursuing mob dropped its guard (due to the sudden disappearance of its enemy) I could capitalise on the sneak attack bonus and finish it off. It took me at least two or three retreats into the safe zone per mob, so at the rate I was earning EXP there was no chance of reaching level 5 by the end of the day. Still, I was making decent progress wielding a rapier so I was satisfied. I fought until I was on the brink of exhaustion, and spent the rest of the evening diligently studying Argo's strategy guides.

* * *

"Hi there, could I bother you for a moment?"

"Sure, how can I help you?"

Players began to arrive from Horunka Village next morning. The person I was speaking to was a blue-haired Player who seemed to be the leader of his party. His group was one of the earliest to reach Splitura.

"I'm hoping to join a party heading for Malonna Village, so I was wondering if your group will be going there as its next destination."

"I see. Unfortunately, my party's planning to go to Merrona Village," he answered with an apologetic look.

Damn.

"Ah, that's too bad. I'll ask someone else then, sorry for wasting your time. Have a safe trip to the next Safe Zone." I was about to leave him when he suddenly called out to me.

"Hey, hold on for a second. You must be a pretty good Player to get here so quickly. What's your name?"

 _Dude, you're totally overestimating me. I'm only here thanks to Argo._

"My name's LOL, may I know yours?"

"I'm Diavel. What do you say we become Friends?" he asked, sending me a friend request. There was no reason to turn him down; a capable (his party was one of the earliest to arrive after all_, confident person like Diavel could prove to be useful in the future. I accepted the friend request without much hesitation.

"For someone who calls himself the devil, you're certainly polite. Well, it has been a pleasure making your acquaintance. Good luck with everything," I said as we shook hands.

"I may be a devil, but I have no intention of going to hell."

We shared a quick laugh before parting ways.

* * *

Although I was planning to continue searching for teammates, my growling stomach convinced me to grab something to eat first. Considering that the players who arrived recently were unlikely to depart from Splitura too soon – at least not until they'd completed all the available quests, I had the luxury of taking my sweet time. It was around lunch time so the restaurant was packed with people dining and chatting. I rested my head on the cold wall while my eyes swept the room, observing the different Players.

 _It probably doesn't matter who I choose, since all the parties that have gathered here are ahead of the pack._

"Man, I'm so hungry! Let's hurry up and order! I'm getting everything that's on the menu." I looked to my left to see six men, all of them more or less in their early twenties, occupy the table next to me.

"Dude, you need to chill. Hey, have any of you read the strategy guide yet? It says that there's a fork in the road up ahead, and we can go to Tolbana Town using either route. Which path should we take?"

"According to Kirito, it takes longer to get to Tolbana Town if you take the left path, but we can get a bit more EXP from the Quests on the left path than on the right. I say that we take things slow and go on the left path." I noticed that the man who was speaking was wearing a red bandana with yellow streaks on it.

"Yeah, that sounds fair enough. We should prioritise levelling up right now, since we won't be able to contribute to the Boss fight if we aren't high levelled enough anyways."

"Preach."

 _The left path... so they're going to Malonna Village as well. I'll try joining them._

"Excuse me." The conversation died down and six pairs of eyes focused on me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I overheard that your next destination is Malonna Village?"

"Yeah, that's right. What about it?"

"Would you mind if I tagged along with your Party? I'm planning to head to Tolbana Town through that direction but the journey would be impossible on my own."

"Don't you have any teammates? I doubt that you got all the way here from the Town of Beginnings by yourself."

"We've temporarily split up. I'm supposed to meet them at Tolbana Town," I explained. "I understand that my request is rather sudden; would you prefer if I gave you a minute to discuss and decide?"

"Yeah, that'd be helpful. We won't be long." I returned to my seat and consumed the rest of my meal in silence while the six men talked among themselves; I didn't have to wait long to get an answer. The bandana-wearing man walked over to my table with a friendly smile.

"Yo! We'd be glad to have you."

Well, mission accomplished. Within forty-eight hours, I went from having a flower in each hand to being part of a sausage fest.

"Thank you very much! I will be in your care," I said as I accepted the party invite sent my way.

"Dude, there's no need to be so formal around us. Just relax. You've got a really sick username though! I like it!"

Initially, the party limit in SAO was six (including NPCs who temporarily joined a party during certain Quests) but that was increased to eight in the official release. While this was convenient for my circumstances, one had to wonder whether this was an indication that the game's difficulty had increased...

It took me a couple of minutes, but I was finally able to put my new teammates' names to their faces:

Klein was the one wearing a red bandana.

Dale was the chubby one.

Dynamm had a red durag on.

Harry Pot – I mean, Harry One was the youngest looking one who wore a helmet (everyone called him H1).

Issin had spiky, brown hair.

Kunimittz was the only one with a beard. He looked like a stern person at first, but I quickly found out that he was a pretty chilled guy, just like the rest of his party.

"So, what're we gonna do next, complete the quests in Splitura?" I asked.

"Yup, that's the plan. You got here earlier than us, didn't you? Can you tell us anything about them, Elo?" Dynamm asked.

That's right, these guys decided to shorten my name to the first two letters (Elo = L.O.).

"Basically, there are a total of two Quests available in Splitura: the first one is a straightforward kill quest in which we have to eliminate twenty Dire Wolves and five Alpha Dire Wolves. The Alpha Dire Wolves are pretty dangerous monsters: they're slightly larger than the average adult male, and are faster than anything else you've encountered. Don't underestimate them. The second's a delivery quest. All we have to do is deliver a letter to an NPC either in Malonna Village or Meronna Village; you can decide which NPC you want to deliver the letter to," I explained.

"Okay, thanks for the rundown. Let's meet in front of the weapons store in ten minutes, and then we'll go wolf hunting," Klein suggested.

"Yessir."

"Roger that."

* * *

Although wolves are highly social animals which hunt in packs, this was not entirely true for the Dire Wolves found on Floor 1 as these monsters typically spawned singly. On the other hand, the Alpha Dire Wolves in SAO did not hunt alone and were always accompanied by a relatively high levelled Dire Wolf, though whether the accompanying Dire Wolf was meant to represent the alpha female of a pack or was merely a bodyguard of some sorts was unknown.

To speed things up, the seven of us were divided into three groups; I fought with Klein and Kunimittz. Although the Dire Wolves were easy to deal with, battling the Alpha Dire Wolf and its companion was too risky. Therefore, all three groups worked together whenever an Alpha Dire Wolf spawned: one group would deal with bodyguard, luring it away with a Throwing Pick while the other two would fight the alpha.

When I was doing this particular quest yesterday with my female companions, Argo made Liz and I attempt fighting an Alpha Dire Wolf while she dealt with the bodyguard. Despite putting up a decent fight, in the end Argo had to intervene and save us. The whiskered beta tester spent the entirety of the quest voicing her abhorring for dogs and wolves and anything that looked remotely similar.

The quest was, for the most part, easy. None of us were under-levelled, and all the mobs that spawned, aside from the alphas, were pretty easy to deal with.

Kunimittz sidestepped a Dire Wolf's lunge and hacked its body with his axe. He jumped out of the way as I charged in and thrust my glowing Bronze Rapier at the monster, causing it to shatter into colourful fragments.

"How old are you anyways?" Kunimitzz asked me while I pulled out a health potion.

"I'm sixteen," I answered while uncorking the bottle of red liquid. "I'm guessing you're twenty-five?"

"Very close; I'm twenty-four years old. You're pretty tall for a teenager."

"Heh, I get that a lot."

"Man, I wish I was still a teenager, growing old sucks," Klein commented. "So Elo, I've gotta ask, do you have a –"

"OI! AN ALPHA's APPEARED!"

"– Never mind, we'll talk later." I tossed the empty bottle aside as the three of us ran towards our target.

Dynamm and Issin had lured the alpha's companion elsewhere while Dale and H1 engaged the alpha. The latter two were playing defensively, evading the monster's attacks while waiting for us to reach their location.

"Get ready to counterattack," H1 calmly instructed his partner once the three of us had gotten near. The wolf lunged at the two, attempting to bite them but they jumped out of the way so that Dale landed on the monster's left side while H1 was on its right.

H1 hurled a Throwing Pick at the alpha, eliciting an angry snarl and murderous glare from the beast. Blinded by rage, it failed to notice Dale swinging his shining two handed sword.

The heavy blow connected. H1 followed suit, landing a quick Vertical with his Bronze Sword.

I leapt towards the alpha and extended my right arm.

Before the glowing rapier could make contact, the beast sprang upwards, jumping so high that it completely leapt over me and evaded my charge. The momentum from the Sword Skill continued to carry me forward so that I was behind the alpha by the time it landed.

Despite my failed attack, we were still in an advantageous situation. The alpha wolf had lost a good chunk of health and was completely surrounded: Klein and Kunimittz were in front of it, Dale and H1 on its sides while I was facing its tail.

Since I was standing in the wolf's blind spot, I took it upon me to initiate the next attack. I hopped forward and stabbed it in the tail, quickly jumping to the side as the wolf turned and snapped at me with its monstrous fangs.

It very nearly bit my face off.

I didn't stick the landing so the back of my head smacked against the ground. The wolf was about to attack me while I was vulnerable but was struck by four Sword Skills at the same time and promptly erased from existence.

"Fuck you," I said with my middle fingers up as the monster disintegrated into pieces. With our fifth Alpha Dire Wolf eliminated, the Quest was finally complete.

"Yo, you alright?" Dale asked as he walked over and helped me up.

"Yeah, I didn't take any damage, though that was way too close for comfort," I replied.

"At least you didn't get flying, right Dale?" Kunimittz asked with a smirk.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Dale said with a grimace. During our fight with the first alpha we came across, Dale attempted to finish off the mob but failed to do so. The monster survived with a sliver of HP, and bit into Dale's outstretched arm while he was paralysed by the post-motion of the Sword Skill. With a mighty swing of its head, it flung him away. Seeing a big dude like Dale fly away was pretty horrifying. Thankfully, Dale wasn't really in danger as his still had more than half of his HP intact.

The quest rewards – a bunch of potions and antidotes – were not particularly spectacular but at least they were definitely usable in the near future. Argo mentioned that some of the monsters near Tolbana Town were poisonous, so there was no reason to complain about getting antidotes for free.

There was still plenty of daylight, and we didn't really have anything better to do. I successfully urged everyone to move on the next town. The mobs between Splitura and Malonna were slightly higher levelled but didn't pose a threat in the face of our superior numbers.

We rented an inn room large enough for the seven of us. I preferred having my own room, but this gave me a chance to get to know my new teammates better so I didn't complain about the arrangement.

"Oi Klein, how's Kirito doing?" Dynamm asked. As of now all seven of us were chilling in our inn room after a good day's grinding.

"He said that he was doing fine the last time I spoke to him," Klein answered.

"That boy's really given us good advice over the last few days. If I get the chance to meet him I'm gonna buy him a beer," Issin said with a grin.

"Dude, he's a minor," Klein said.

"Umm... who is this Kirito anyways?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, he's a kid I met on the first day who taught me how to fight. After Kayaba's announcement he immediately left for Horunka Village, and I haven't seen him since. He's a beta tester, so he knows how to take care of himself.

He sends me a lot of really helpful advice, something which all of us are grateful for. We definitely wouldn't have reached Splitura so early if it wasn't for him," Klein explained.

 _Sounds like an interesting guy, I wonder if he's acquainted with Argo. Scratch that, Argo said the she was the No.1 info broker during the beta test, so they must know each other. Kirito, huh? It might be a good idea to remember his name._

"I see. I'd like to meet him as well. By the way, you might want to keep Kirito's identity a secret," I said. Some time before parting with Argo and Liz, I asked my mentor about the reason for our (Liz and my) vow to safeguard the identities of beta testers, and she explained her thought process to me.

"How do you mean?" Kunimittz asked.

"There's a possibility beta testers are going to be ostracised in the future. These are stressful times, and people like to fault others for their own misfortunes; there might be a day when the new players start resenting the beta testers for (I extended my index and middle fingers, and flexed them to form air quotes) 'abandoning other players and selfishly keeping everything to themselves'; I wouldn't be surprised if someone went as far as to claim that beta testers are responsible for the death of new players," I explained – or rather, recited Argo's words.

"But that's messed up! There are plenty of beta testers who help out the new Players. I mean, Kirito sends us advice from time to time, and I'm pretty sure the Argo guy who makes the strategy guides is also a beta tester," Klein replied. "In fact, most of us wouldn't have made it as far as Horunka Village if it wasn't for the strategy guides!"

 _Argo isn't a guy, Klein. I'm really glad that the strategy guides were a success though, I'll be sure to let Argo know._

"People often cope with bad situations by directing their negative emotions towards other people. It doesn't matter if the beta testers are selfish bastards or our secret saviours; what matters is that they're a viable scapegoat for the majority of SAO victims," H1 said. "I know it sucks and doesn't justify any unreasonable actions towards the beta testers, but it is what it is."

"... Yeah, I guess you're right," Klein sighed. "I just hope Kirito won't get caught up in all that mess."

"Anyways, what matters is that we keep Kirito's identity strictly to ourselves," Dale said. It was good to see that they understood my concerns.

"Hey Klein, didn't you want to ask me something earlier today? What was it?" I asked, suddenly remembering Klein's interrupted question.

"Hmm... oh right, that! What I wanted to ask was..." Klein took a deep breath before continuing. "Dude, do you have a girlfriend?"

... Oh. The innocent question evoked a low, hollow laugh from me.

"Been single my whole life, and probably will be until the day I die," I answered depressingly. Issin walked over and placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, an understanding expression on his face.

"So you're one of us, huh. We know how you feel." It took me a moment to fully digest his words.

"Wait, so all of you as well?" Despite the silence, everyone's downcast faces told me all I needed to know.

"I'm stuck in the slums of the friendzone," Dynamm forlornly said. "During my late teens, I fell in love with somebody. We got along really well, but when I asked her out, she said she wanted to 'just stay friends'. Still got feelings for her, but it doesn't seem like they'll be reciprocated."

 _Damn that sucks!_

"At least the person you liked didn't cheat on you," Klein commented with a sour expression. "Man, I spent the whole night crying when I found out my girl was sleeping with another dude."

 _Whoa, whoa, whoa! THAT really sucks! This conversation escalated way too quickly._

"I've gotta thank my homeboys for staying up the whole evening consoling me though," Klein continued as his gazed at his friends, gratitude evident in his voice. "If it weren't for them, I don't think I would've been able to get over it."

"All of us ended up sleeping over at Klein's place because it got so late," Dale added. "Man, there was barely enough space, it was hella cramped."

"That's because you take up two times as much space, you fatso!" Issin laughed.

"Though I gotta say, looking back that heartbreak actually did me good. Sure, it hurt like hell, but you don't grow into a real man until someone breaks your heart," Klein said with a grin.

"Well you're still young, Elo. You've got time to make a comeback, so live strong and don't give up," H1 encouraged me. "If something happens, just know that we got your back."

"Yeah, if you need a couple of shoulders to cry on, you know who to look for," Dynamm said with a thumbs-up.

... Yup, screw settling for being single!

"Friends... no, brothers!" I spoke as if I were a commander leading a suicidal charge. "Though the struggle is real, we shall fight! And when we emerge victorious, when we finally end up with that special someone, we shall declare to the world: we came, we saw, we CONQUERED!"

...Please don't look at me so judgingly.

Anyways, my speech was met with thundering applause.

"Preach, preach!"

"Do it for all of us spending Valentine's on their own!"

On this day, I formed an unbreakable bond with six equally lonely men.

* * *

Unlike most games, NPC interaction in SAO wasn't limited to conversation. Clausewitz and Argo discovered that you could ask the NPC settlers to help you spread information or distribute items, provided you pay them a small fee. This would be the means by which Argo and I distributed the info guides.

Argo told me to carry out the distribution in secret so as to avoid people being aware of my association with her. I suppose she was just trying to protect me: if the new players became resentful of the betas, Argo would surely be a target of hate. Her strategy guides had made references to the beta test (for the sake of credibility) so her identity as a beta tester would definitely be revealed. I could be in danger simply by being involved with her.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind being a target of hate if it meant supporting my mentor and saviour, but I respected Argo's desire to protect Liz and me.

I left copies of the info guides in the NPC stores and asked the store keepers to ensure all the players who visited their shops left with a copy, paying an insignificant sum in the process to convince them to aid me. All this was done without any of the other players noticing.

* * *

"Yo, there's a house up ahead! That must be the Lumberjack's Shack Kirito and the strategy guide mentioned," Dynamm said as he pointed at a run-down log cabin. The interior of the building not only served as a safe zone, it was also home to two NPCs – a father and a daughter – who were quest givers. We were currently somewhere between Malonna and Tolbana and were making reasonably decent progress.

"Welcome, travellers! We don't get guests very often," the lumberjack NPC warmly welcomed us into his shack. "To be honest, I'm quite surprised that you'd come to these parts, given how dangerous these woods have been lately." A speech bubble containing a question mark appeared above the NPC; that was the sign that a quest was available for undertaking.

"Dangerous, you say?" Kunimittz asked.

"Recently, a pack of Kobolds have been active in this area. It's just not safe anymore," the lumberjack said dejectedly. "I fear the day the Kobolds decide to attack our house. There's only so much one man can do with an axe," he said as he snuck a glance at his daughter, a child who looked no older than ten.

"Don't worry, we'll get rid of them for you," Dynamm said. The question mark floating above the NPC turned into an exclamation mark.

"Would you really be so kind? We would certainly be grateful if you did so!"

"Yeah, just sit tight and wait for the good news," Issin said as the seven of us walked out of the shack.

The 'pack of Kobolds' the lumberjack spoke of was actually a group of five Kobold Scouts. Although they were terrifying opponents for underlevelled players unaccustomed to SAO combat (Liz and I could testify to that), at my current level they weren't too hard to deal with. I had been diligently training each day, so I was able to keep up with the mob's relatively quick speed, and my party had a significant numerical advantage, so we didn't really have a hard time completing the Quest. My teammates were wary of the Kobolds' ability to use Sword Skills, and managed to defend against them with relative ease.

The quest reward was the Lumberjack's Axe, a weapon which Kunimittz happily received since it was an upgrade from the Bronze Axe he had been using.

As for the lumberjack's little daughter...

"Hey misters, are you going to Tolbana Town?"

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked.

"Can you help me deliver something to my big brother?"

"Sure, what is it?" I was mildly surprised when she handed me her teddy bear.

"Big brother Roy is one of the guardsmen of Tolbana Town. According to his letters, he's stressed out from defending the townspeople from the bad Kobolds!" said the little girl. "Big brother told me that Teddy will protect me from nightmares when I sleep. I want to lend Teddy to big brother so that he can rest well at night!"

What a sweet child! How could I bear to deny such a request? The guilt would be unbearable.

* * *

"How much longer till the next Safe Zone? I could really use the rest," Dynamm asked.

"Don't be impatient, we're almost there," Kunimittz replied.

I had been travelling with Klein's group for more than a week, and the seven of us were only one safe zone away from Tolbana Town; that safe zone was known as the Tolbana Town Western Outpost. Unlike the towns and villages we had passed by, the military outpost did not provide lodgings, so it wasn't an ideal location to spend the evening in, but it was good enough for a brief moment's respite. Also, according to the Quest Log, speaking with a certain NPC guardsmen at the outpost was necessary to advance the quest we had received from the lumberjack's daughter.

"We're almost at Tolbana Town, Elo. What're you gonna do, meet up with your friends?" Kunimittz asked.

"I might as well stick around until we finish the little girl's Quest. I don't like leaving loose ends."

"Ha, fair enough."

Argo and Liz had already arrived at Tolbana Town, and I was looking forward to reuniting with them; there was certainly a lot of catching up to be done.

"Excuse me, would you happen to know a guardsman called Roy?" H1 asked the NPC we were supposed to talk to at the western outpost.

"Err... I think there was someone with that name who was stationed at the eastern outpost? I'm not too sure myself, but I have a friend at the eastern outpost who can tell you where Roy is."

"Okay, thank you very much." It didn't take us too long to reach Tolbana Town. It was a large, vibrant area full of players and NPCs alike. Exploring the town would be something to do later, though; we had a quest to complete. After a short rest we headed to the eastern outpost and found the NPC we were supposed to talk to.

"Yo, do you know someone called Roy?" Klein asked him.

"Who are you? Why are you looking for him?" the NPC asked.

"Roy's little sister asked us to deliver something to her big brother," I answered.

"Oh. So they haven't heard yet..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. There was a strange sense of foreboding.

"Roy was killed during the last Kobold raid."

Well damn, that's sad.

"I'll pay his family a visit and tell them about the bad news. Why don't you give me whatever Roy's sister asked you to give him? I'll leave it by his grave," the NPC offered.

The little sister wanted to give her brother the teddy bear to help him sleep at life. Hopefully the toy will let him rest in peace.

"Thanks for everything. Although it wasn't for long, I really enjoyed travelling with you guys," I said to my friends as we headed back to Tolbana Town. Klein and the others were planning to take on the first floor's Labyrinth so they would be staying in Tolbana for the next few days. At any rate, the game's instant messaging meant I could easily arrange to meet up with them if necessary.

"Nah, the pleasure is ours. You made the last week a lot more entertaining," Klein replied. "You and your friends are welcome to party with us anytime."

"Thanks, g. I'll probably take you up on your offer in the future." With a few more farewells, we parted ways.

* * *

"Hey handsome! Looking for someone? Perhaps you're searching for two beauties?"

"He sure as hell ain't handsome, Liz."

I couldn't help but grin.

* * *

 **A/N: School's finally over, so that means I can write to my heart's content. Expect much more frequent updates from now on. I also apologise for the long delays; believe me, I've been wanting to write fanfiction for quite a while.**

 **We'll see more of Klein and the rest of Fuurinkazan soon, no worries.**

 **I should also clarify that this isn't a self-insert. The protagonist also doesn't necessarily represent the author's views.**

 **I'll be including information on the various OCs on my profile page. Note that only OCs - not minor characters in the canon - will have information about them on the page. This information will range from character abilities and traits to what some of the other characters think about them. This information will be updated everytime a new chapter is released, though I might add bits of trivia on a whim.**

 **There are quite a few things from earlier chapters I want to change. Albeit these are minor changes, I might be rewriting various bits in the first three chapters.**

 **Additionally, I'll be adding omakes/extra scenes from now on... enjoy.**

* * *

Omake: Act of kindness

With a loud clang, Lisbeth's Iron Scimitar was knocked out of her hand; a swift kick to the stomach knocked the defenceless girl to the ground.

"Brutal as ever," Lisbeth commented with a sigh as Argo helped her up. "Sparring with you is too much for a beginner like me."

"Actually, ya've been improvin' pretty quickly," Argo praised. "Yer reactions are good, and yer gettin' smarter with your attacks. Have more confidence in yerself."

"Really? Thanks."

The two had been sparring within the safe zone for the last couple of hours. Argo and Lisbeth's travels had been going smoothly, and they were less than two days away from Tolbana Town. Everyday, Argo would spend a good amount of time training Lisbeth; thanks to that, the beginner's combat prowess was improving at a notable rate. Still, try as she might, Lisbeth was not capable of landing even a glancing blow on the experienced beta tester.

"Right now, yer biggest problem is footwork; ya can't just stand still and wait for yer opponent to come towards ya. Liz, have ya ever seen a boxing or MMA match?"

"Yeah, I've seen a few. Why?"

"Have ya noticed how those fighters are constantly movin'? That movement helps them to develop a rhythm, and it makes them much harder to predict. Ya understand?"

"It makes sense, but how do you know if you're moving too much or too little? Matter of fact, is there even a 'right' way of moving?"

"Good question. The correct way to move, young padawan, is to move with purpose. I'll go into a bit more detail later; for now, let's take a break. You look like you could use a short rest."

"Ain't that true." Both females sheathed their weapons and sat and on a nearby bench side by side.

"Thanks," Argo said, accepting a bottle of water from Lisbeth and chugging it down. "Y'know, it's been ages since I've last taught somebody to play the game. It's actually quite fun watchin' people learn and grow."

"What was it like for you starting out?" Lisbeth asked.

"Let's see... like now, back then SAO didn't have a tutorial so it took me a while to get used to the combat mechanics. In an interview, Kayaba Akihiko stated that he purposely didn't include a tutorial in SAO because he wanted the players to discover their own ways of fighting instead of conforming to the techniques described in some tutorial. Although I could see where he was coming from, I thought this would be too unfair for people who didn't participate in the beta test since they'd be far too behind the beta testers by the time they learned how to play the game.

That's when Clausewitz and I came up with the idea of makin' a strategy guide for beginners. A beginner-friendly manual would also be a nice way to make a name for myself as an info broker, so once we decided on making the strategy guide we spent weeks workin' on a manual we could replicate in the game. Pretty glad we went through all that trouble."

"Your act of kindness ended up saving a lot of people. You and Clausewitz should be proud of what you've done for everyone else," Lisbeth said.

"Heh, there's still a lot more to be done. We're only gettin' started. Come on, let's continue sparrin'."


	5. Kobold Army's End (1 of 2)

Ch.5 – Kobold Army's End (1/2)

How the fuck did Liz get so much stronger in one week!?

Gone was the indecisive, clueless girl who didn't put much thought behind her attacks; the new Liz was a smarter, bolder fighter and her movements were much smoother. As noted by Argo, she still had plenty of room to improve but damn her abilities were way above the average beginner's.

I sparred with Liz for the first time ever on the same day the three of us were reunited. I knew that she was the better fighter so I anticipated losing, but I was confident I could give her a run for her money, especially since I improved during my time with Klein and the others. Long story short, I got my ass kicked. I sorely overestimated my reactiveness and underestimated Liz's movement speed.

Argo also improved since I'd last seen her. Her change was not as drastic as Liz's but it was still noticeable. Sometime last week Argo had gotten her hands (or paws?) on a pair of claws, her preferred choice of weapon. Argo was a terrific knife wielder but she was even better with her favourite tools. Her new fighting style was even more dynamic, acrobatic and difficult to read.

Truly, the rich just got even richer.

I had my work cut out for me catching up to those two, but I was really happy seeing my friends get better. Especially Liz, considering how she was when I first met her.

* * *

"Hmm? ...Yo, I just got a message from Claws. He wants to discuss somethin' with us ASAP so he'll come over to meet us," Argo announced. Moments ago we finished the last of the available quests in Tolbana Town and were planning to call it a day.

By this point we had already accomplished our goal of giving out the strategy guides as it was deemed sufficient to cease distribution beyond Tolbana. Anyone who got to this point probably didn't need the basic explanations about the game's mechanics, which were already included in earlier versions of the manuals. Additionally, information regarding the three remaining settlements on Floor 1 was compiled into another info guide that was distributed alongside the Tolbana Town edition.

"I'm guessing 'Claws' is short for Clausewitz?" I asked. Argo nodded. "Isn't the Town of Beginnings pretty far away? It'd take him a good few days to get here."

"Actually, he should be able to fast travel from the Town of Beginnings to Tolbana Town using the Teleport Gates," Liz said in reply. Right, I had forgotten that major settlements like Tolbana Town and the Town of Beginnings had Teleport Gates which were accessible to everyone. "Any idea what Clausewitz wants to talk with us about, Argo?"

"I think so, but no spoilers from me – that'd ruin the fun."

How ominous.

Conveniently enough, the bespectacled beta tester was staying in the same inn as us, though our rooms were on different floors.

"Wassup Claws?" Argo asked loudly as she kicked open the door to his room. Inn rooms were generally inaccessible to other people, but players in the same party as the renter, as well as specifically designated friends had the privilege of entry.

"Oh, there you are Argo. Lisbeth, LOL, it's been a while."

"Good evening!"

"Heyo, all good?"

"Yes, I've been well," Clausewitz – nah, Claws is easier – answered. "Thank you for helping Argo with the strategy guides. You two truly did a magnificent job."

"Your humble servant is glad to be of assistance," Liz dramatically said as she gave Claws a curtsy, earning a chuckle from everyone present. Wanting to join in the fun, I stood next to Liz and bowed.

"Indeed, we exist for the sole purpose for attending to your needs, master strategist, though looking after your pet is more trouble than it's worth." I threw my whiskered mentor a provocative glance.

"Call me an animal one more time, L, and I'mma bite you."

"I must say, I quite like the title 'master strategist'. Well, shenanigans aside there's something we need to speak about. Specifically, about the inevitable Floor Boss raid." Within a second Claws' expression turned serious. The smiles on our faces disappeared as well.

"Apparently it'll take some time before the boss room is found, but no harm sharing with you what we know about the boss," Claws said. Oh yeah, he was a beta tester; of course he'd have that kind of information. "Can you guess what the Floor Boss will be? I'll give you a hint: think about the common denominator to the majority of the mobs we've fought."

His clue was a dead giveaway. Most the monsters we fought – e.g. Kobold Scout, Kobold Trooper, Kobold Lancer, Armoured Kobold, Kobold Berserker (those fuckers were tough to deal with) – belonged to some kind of Kobold army. Going by that pattern, the Floor Boss was likely the army's leader. Also, as a raid boss the monster was surely very large in size.

"It's probably some kind of humongous, high-ranking Kobold, isn't it?" Liz answered.

Darn she beat me to it.

"Bingo! The Floor Boss is known as Illfang the Kobold Lord. The name doesn't really leave much to imagination," Argo commented. "We're expectin' some changes from the beta test but I'll give ya a broad idea of what the boss is like.

Illfang has four HP bars in total. It'll be accompanied by three Ruin Kobold Sentinels – armoured, human-sized creatures usin' a mace and shield – at the beginnin' of the fight. Every time Illfang loses an HP bar, another three sentinels will spawn. Therefore, one group of players will be responsible for divertin' the three bodyguards away from Illfang while the rest of the raid team focuses on maulin' 'em.

Initially, Illfang wields a large axe and shield. Its attacks are powerful but slow and predictable, so it shouldn't be too challengin' provided everyone can work together well enough. After losin' two-thirds of its health, Illfang will discard its axe and shield for a large talwar. Its attack speed will increase, and the attack patterns will change so beware. Well, that's pretty much it."

… _Okay, so it's a big-ass monster with a huge weapon (the size of the weapon compensating for something?) and it's slow but strong. Sounds like your typical physical bruiser RPG boss. Hopefully this will be as straightforward as I think it'll be. Hmm, but which team should Liz and I fight in? It probably doesn't matter, right?_

"Just one question," I said with a hand raised. "Should we fight as a part of the main squad or should we be on the diversion team?"

"Seeing how Argo knows you two the best I think she should answer that," Claws replied gesturing to said girl.

"Aight, fine. L, Liz, I think ya two should split up for the boss fight. I know, I know, ya two would feel much better fightin' side by side, but tactically speakin' Liz should join the diversion squad, and L should be part of the main team."

"Care to elaborate?" I asked. As much as I trust Argo, I wasn't going to agree without hearing at least hearing an explanation.

"Ideally we want the diversion team to have as few players as possible so that we can throw more bodies at Illfang. The diversion squad will be made up of stronger players to compensate for its low numbers; essentially we're goin' with the 'quality over quantity' approach. Even though she's a work in progress, Liz is good enough at one-on-one combat to hold her own against the Ruin Kobold Sentinels so she's well suited for the diversion squad," Argo answered.

So far her explanation made sense.

"In all honesty L, yer individual combat abilities are, at best, slightly above average. Yer not bad, but ya probably won't be much help to the diversion squad. On the other hand, yer a pretty good team player. Didn't ya fit in quite well with the six dudes ya were travellin' with last week? Not everyone can adapt to others' play styles as well as ya can, ya know. Ya fight at yer best when surrounded with plenty of teammates, ya'd be better off in the main team this time. Of course, it'd be pointless to consider any kind of tactical advantage if ya two don't feel comfortable splittin' up, so lemme hear what ya think."

"Thanks for the precise explanation. At the very least, I don't object to your reasoning. Liz," I said, turning to my friend. "Tell me what you honestly think."

"Honestly? I'm fine with splitting up for the boss fight."

"Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, it's not like I'll be fighting all alone. What about you, will you be fine without me by your side?"

"I doubt the word 'fine' can be applied to someone who'll be waving a toothpick at a huge, angry creature, but I'm sure I can manage. Just watch, I'll pull through one way or another."

"Great!" Claws said with a clap of his hands. "That's all I wanted to talk with you about. By the way, Argo will not be participating in the boss fight."

"WHAT!?" Argo shrieked. She was just as surprised as Liz and I were.

"Lisbeth, LOL, you two might want to wait outside. Things are going to get violent," Claws suggested. One look at Argo's furious face told us all we needed to know. Liz and I hurried out of the room, shutting the door as we left. Due to the soundproof function of inn rooms, we could not hear any of the (I imagine) bitter argument. We were startled by Argo suddenly storming out of the room and out of the inn. Seconds later Claws told us that she had relented and promised not to participate in the boss fight. With that the meeting came to an end.

Although the labyrinth was accessible from Tolbana, the three of us decided to upgrade our equipment by completing the sidequests in the three remaining settlements on Floor 1 before exploring the deadly maze. After all, the labyrinth was the most dangerous place on the entire floor, and it would only make sense to prepare ourselves as well as we could prior to facing whatever challenges the dungeon had to offer.

Within a single day we had visited two of the three remaining safe zones, completing every single available quest in the process. Worn out from another day of fighting, I spent the evening hanging out in the room the girls shared. Liz and I were playing Cho-Han Bakuchi (a traditional gambling game played with two dice and a cup) while Argo was flicking through messages on her bed.

"God damnit!"

Someone sure sounded happy.

"What's wrong Argo?" Liz asked.

"One of my more important clients wants to speak with me ASAP. Said client's in Tolbana, so I'll have to rush over there first thin' in the mornin'. Couldn't he have asked to see me when I was in Tolbana instead of when I'm an entire day and two safe zones away?" Argo ranted, irritation written all over her face.

"You're cute when you're annoyed." Liz's remark earned her a thrown pillow to the face. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"So we're going to head all the way back to Tolbana?" I asked. Argo took a moment to think things through.

"Hrm… no, wait… maybe, just maybe… AHA! I'm a genius!"

Oh god, what is she scheming this time?

"Actually, I'd like to ask you to do me a favour, L."

"Oh? Am I going to lose an arm or a leg in the process?"

"Hah, it's nothing like that! Basically, a friend of mine will be stopping by this village tomorrow. I'd like ya to meet up with him and..."

* * *

Who would've thought that I would once again be separated from my female companions despite reuniting with them so recently? Those two left for Tolbana early the next morning while I was stuck in the village's empty weapon store waiting for Argo's friend. Getting bored staring at the items on display, I was about to kill time with Argo's strategy guide when someone walked in. Black hair, long-sleeved blue shirt, fingerless gloves and a sword strapped to his back. Yup, the young teenager fit Argo's description.

"Excuse me!" I said as I approached the boy, trying to appear as amicable as possible. "You're Kirito, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me," Kirito answered curtly. "So you're LOL?"

"Yup, the one and only!" I replied while flicking open my player menu. "I've got Argo's item right… here!" Kirito accepted the trade request, and the transfer was completed. Heh, the guy can barely maintain his stoic face – after all, nothing pleases a gamer more than getting a rare item.

Said item was an extremely precious Teleport Crystal Argo was lucky enough to find. The aquamarine crystal allowed the user to teleport a designated player to any settlement he/she had been to, making it perfect for emergencies. Apparently players were able to buy the item in NPC stores from Floor 5 onwards during the beta test; however, it was pretty much impossible to get a hold of it between the first and fourth floors of Aincrad – unless you were one of the privileged few who were favoured by Fortuna, like Argo.

I have no idea why anyone would favour that idiot, least of all lady luck.

Anyways, Argo decided to give him the Teleport Crystal because Kirito was, unlike the rest of us, a solo player. Although she was fully aware of his unmatched battle prowess, Argo still feared for his safety and wanted to do what she could to help boost his odds of survival, hence the gift.

"Thanks. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Argo did say that Kirito was the type who felt uncomfortable around strangers so his terseness was expected. It was obvious the guy wanted to get out of my face as quickly as possible, but…

* * *

"A friend of mine will be stoppin' by this village tomorrow. I'd like ya to meet up with him and give him somethin'," Argo requested.

"Okay, so all I gotta do is act as a deliveryman. Is that all?"

"No, there's somethin' else I'd like ya to do. I know I'm askin' this outta the blue, but can ya please befriend him? This guy, he's an amazin' fighter but also a complete loner. No matter how strong a person is, they can't survive on their own – that's just how things are," Argo sighed. "I'm worried about him. I'd feel a lot more at ease if that boy has someone else he can lean on, at least emotionally."

Argo's tone made it clear how important this second request was to her.

"Well, I'm never gonna say never to making a new friend."

"Thanks L, I knew I could count on ya! The guy's name is Kirito."

Wait, isn't that Klein's… heh, small world.

* * *

Sorry pal, you're not getting away from me just yet. Thankfully, I happen to know a sure-fire method to get your attention.

"Say, do you happen to know someone called Klein? He's a friendly dude who wears a red bandana."

"No way! How do you know Klein!?" Kirito asked, shock written all over his face.

 _Well that was effective._

"I partied with him and his friends over the last week or so. We have each other on our friends lists."

"How was he? Was he doing fine?"

"He's been as well as anyone can be. Klein and his friends were a real joy to travel with." Kirito looked relieved, as if a heavy burden was taken off his shoulders. "You know, those guys frequently spoke about a beta tester called Kirito. Apparently this mysterious player often sends them useful advice, and was a huge factor behind their exceptional progress. They really, really want to thank their benefactor personally. Won't you take the time to go and see them, Kirito?"

Argo's request wasn't the only thing on my mind. I was grateful to Klein and the others for letting me join them, and what better way to repay them than to help them meet up with the one person they'd wanted to express their gratitude towards?

The young teen before me was blatantly troubled by my suggestion. His lips thinned, and his eyes darted to the side so that he was no longer making eye contact with me. Kirito's melancholic expression gave me an impression of vulnerability.

"I-I can't."

"Won't you tell me why? Anyone who's friends with Argo and Klein are automatically friends of mine, so it's not as if I'm uninvolved." I unconsciously held my breath as I watched Kirito mull over my offer. I was standing between him and the exit, but I wasn't sure if Kirito would just push past me and leave.

"… On the first day of the death game I selfishly abandoned Klein to ensure my own safety. I don't have the right to accept their thanks, not when I left them behind when they needed me the the most," Kirito said. The teen was suffering, drowning in a sea of regret because of what he had done.

Yet, Klein and the others didn't seem to hold a grudge against Kirito for his 'betrayal'. In no way, shape or form did they perceive him to be an unforgivable traitor; otherwise why would they speak so fondly of him all the time? I didn't know what exactly transpired between Klein and Kirito, but I believed that the latter's actions, whatever they were, did not merit such deep remorse. Besides, Kirito had constantly been sending Klein helpful advice so it wasn't as if he really abandoned him.

The stress of trying to survive the death game was already too much for a person to bear; the excruciatingly heavy burden of guilt was something the young boy did NOT need. I couldn't in good conscience leave Kirito alone, not when I had the opportunity to help relieve him of his suffering. I took it upon myself to do something about Kirito's anguish, for his sake, for Klein's sake, for Argo's sake.

 _Hmm… let's try to see things from Kirito's perspective. In his eyes, he 'gravely wronged' Klein and the others due to his 'cowardice'. Therefore, if he were to be 'forgiven' by the very 'victims' of his 'sins', his feelings of regret may lessen – perhaps even vanish._

The difficult part was persuading Kirito to meet up with Klein's party when he was clearly opposed to doing so. I racked my brain for ideas, and suddenly realized something: Kirito was tormented by the notion of having wronged Klein. Surely the fear of potentially doing the bandana wearer further harm should be sufficient to motivate the boy?

"Thanks for sharing your circumstances with me, Kirito. I understand that your guilt is stopping you from approaching Klein's party. However, avoiding Klein will achieve nothing but cause him grief!" I stamped my foot on the wooden floor to make my words more dramatic.

"W-what do you mean?" Kirito asked, recoiling slightly from my unexpected change in tone. He was caught off guard by my sudden change in tone.

"Do you understand the agony of being indebted to someone but never being able to properly express your gratitude!? It's nothing short of mental torture. It's a destructive feeling that makes you feel useless, you become frustrated with your weakness to the point of hating yourself!" I didn't realize it back then but I was actually yelling.

"You're a solo player, aren't you? That means you're exposed to higher risks than everyone else. If something were to happen to you, think of how much Klein would regret not being able to thank you! You've hurt him once because of your cowardice; are you going to hurt him again because of your guilt!?"

Kirito didn't say anything but he was clearly affected by my words. He was so appalled by the idea of causing Klein (in his eyes, further) suffering that he couldn't even form a verbal response.

"Kirito, I'm sure there's a part of you that wants to be forgiven, and I think you deserve to be. We all make mistakes, but what matters is learning from them and moving on. Let's go and talk to Klein."

"… Yeah, you're right. Let's go see Klein," Kirito said with a sigh. Thankfully my encouragement was successful. I swiftly manipulated the player menu to send said man a message, and he enthusiastically agreed to meet us at Tolbana Town.

* * *

Klein was impatiently waiting for us at the entrance of some fancy restaurant, swivelling his head like it was some kind of security camera as he searched for us among the crowd of NPCs and players. It cost a fortune to eat at the place Klein had chosen, though the food was exceptional; Argo thought that it was the best restaurant Floor 1 had to offer. Heh, someone certainly pulled out all the stops for this reunion.

Kirito and I were watching him from some distance away. The young teen beside me wore an uncertain expression; all things considered it wasn't strange for him to get cold feet. He jumped slightly when I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take a deep breath and count to ten." Kirito did as I advised. "Remember to be honest." I gave his back a gentle push, and he took slow steps towards Klein's directions. I wish I had a camera to record Klein's excited face when he saw Kirito, for no words will do his reaction justice. However, I do not exaggerate when I say that my man lit up like a light bulb.

"Kirito!? Hey, it IS you, right!? Man, it's been a while!" Klein loudly exclaimed. He walked up to the hesitant teen and threw an arm over Kirito's shoulder, pulling him in for a sideways one-armed hug. I snuck up to the two using the Hiding skill Argo taught me, taking care to move quietly so as to not disrupt the reunion.

"Yo Klein, so you're still alive?"

… What kind of greeting is that?

"Am I glad to see you again! I was really worried when you left the Town of Beginnings all on your own, but I should've known that you'd be alright."

"Listen, about that day… I'm sorry I bailed on you. I think about it from time to time." Klein's response was to ruffle Kirito's black hair, earning a surprised yelp from the boy.

"Don't worry about it dude. I was the one who told you to go ahead, remember? Besides, all the advice you've been sending us has been more than enough help."

"…Thanks, man."

"Hey, come on in dude! I'll introduce you to the others." With that, Klein dragged Kirito into the restaurant. I stood outside, unnoticed and forgotten, even though I was the one who arranged the whole reunion. I didn't want to interrupt Kirito's meeting with the rest of Klein's party so I stayed outside idly staring at the restaurant's front door. Eventually someone remembered my meagre existence and came out to get me.

* * *

"Yo Argo, Liz, morning."

"Good morning, L, Kirito,"

"Mornin', Kirito. Mornin', L."

"Good morning."

Kirito and I wounded up spending the evening in the same inn as Argo and Liz. Speaking of those two, they were definitely surprised by our unannounced visit last night.

"In case you guys forgot, we'll be *yawn* meeting Klein and the others in two hours," I reminded my friends.

"Duly noted. Now let's go and grab some grub, I'm starving!"

"Ya better watch yer weight Liz."

"Shut up Argo."

Considering that my friends had different priorities, it was a rare occurrence for everyone to be in the same safe zone. I decided to seize the opportunity by inviting everyone to participate in a boss raid. Our target this time was called a large monster known as 'Redfang the Kobold General', an entity referred to as a Field Boss.

Field Bosses were unique, named monsters which were way, way more powerful than normal mobs and thus necessitated sufficient preparation and manpower. Sometimes they were strategically placed in a way that accessing the labyrinth, and consequently boss room, was impossible without defeating the obstructing Field Bosses first, but the red fanged kobold on Floor 1 was an entirely optional foe. The boss and its minions spawned near the labyrinth, but one could easily reach the maze's entrance without arousing the attention of the deadly monster and its cronies.

"You two fought Redfang before, right? Tell us what it's like," I said to Kirito and Argo between spoonfuls of oatmeal.

"Accordin' to intel, Redfang's barely changed since the beta test. The only difference is that it now has three HP bars instead of two," Argo answered. "Ya remember anythin' about Redfang, Kii-bou?"

"Redfang uses a two-headed axe, and is flanked by two Ruin Kobold Sentinels, though Redfang's bodyguards are at a lower level than Illfang's. Every time Redfang loses an HP bar, two more sentinels will spawn," Kirito recounted. "The strategy for Redfang and Illfang are the same: someone lures the sentinels away and defeat them before new ones spawn while everyone else gangs up on the boss. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope! As expected of Kii-bou, yer memory is amazin'," Argo praised.

"I'll deal with one of the sentinels. I'm going to be on the diversion team for the Floor Boss raid so this'll be good practice," Liz said. "I doubt I'll be able to take down a sentinel on my own though, so I'll need help."

"I've got ya, Liz!" Argo said, hugging the brunette. Liz didn't seem to mind our mentor's affectionate gesture.

"Then I'll take care of the other sentinel," Kirito said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. You guys haven't fought a boss yet, so it's better if I let you all get some hands-on experience."

"Alright, that makes sense."

* * *

"Yo! Took you long enough, L, Kirito!" Dynamm said to us as we approached his party. "So, who're the ladies?"

Wait, 'ladies'? I don't think you can call these two little girls 'ladies'. Actually how old are they?

"This is Liz. We happened to run into each other on the first day of the death game," I introduced. Said girl gave a friendly wave to the six young men who responded enthusiastically.

"And this is Argo. She is our… pet something. Watch, Liz and I taught her a few tricks," I said, turning to my peeved friend and raising a finger. "Argo, talk."

"RARGH!"

"AHH! GET HER OFF ME!"

She bit me! She really bit me! Now I'm going to have rabies, godamnit.

* * *

Two throwing picks flew through the air and found their marks in Redfang's bodyguards. Enraged, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels each charged at their respective attackers. While the sentinels were distracted, Klein's party and I engaged the gigantic, grey beast.

Redfang charged up an attack and swung its axe at us. Dale, Kunimittz, Dynamm and Klein countered the blow with their own Sword Skills.

The four smaller weapons clashed with Redfang's axe at the same time.

The resulting impact threw all five combatants off balance. Seizing the opening, H1, Issin and I relentlessly assaulted the temporarily vulnerable monstrosity. The three of us retreated before Redfang recovered so that the others could intercept its next blow for us.

With a roar, Redfang brought its axe to its side –

"DODGE!" Klein yelled

– and swung twice in quick succession, hitting nothing but air. I quickly jumped in and hacked at Redfang with my Iron Scimitar, falling back as soon as the extremely short post-motion of my Sword Skill was over.

The grey creature's next blow was successfully intercepted by those four, and the three attackers once again had the opportunity to wreck havoc. Issin, H1 and I were only able to inflict limited damage each time we attacked but we steadily chipped away at Redfang's HP. We acted swiftly and cautiously, not letting a single chance slip by. Our efforts, however, were nothing compared to the admirable performance by the defensive team.

Klein was an excellent commander who correctly read Redfang's movements and gave quick, precise orders to his teammates. Dale, Dynamm and Kunimittz were excellent subordinates for following Klein's instructions to a T. Despite its heavy strikes Redfang failed to break past the spirited defenders: the four matched Redfang's strong blows with their combined Sword Skills and evaded when blocking was too risky. Argo and Kirito may had explained Redfang's attack patterns and its tells to us before the battle but the effective defence was impossible without great teamwork. Perhaps this level of cooperation was to be expected of long-time friends who had been gaming together for years.

The battle went smoothly. Though it took us a while we removed Redfang's first HP bar without too much trouble. However, about halfway through the second HP bar the battle truly began. It turned out we had neglected the presence of a second enemy: exhaustion.

Redfang was the one and only Field Boss in the entirety of Floor 1 which meant that the seven of us had never been involved in a boss battle prior to engaging the axe-carrying kobold. Considering that typical mob fights never lasted longer than a few minutes we were totally unaccustomed to drawn-out conflicts. Issin was eternally energetic and showed no sign of slowing down but the rest of us were seriously getting worn out. Klein was visibly exhausted yet somehow managed to continue directing the defence. H1 continued to wordlessly stab and slash the grey monster despite his obvious weariness. I was pushing myself beyond my limits. Even though we were used to Redfang's fairly straightforward attack patterns, both offense and defence became increasingly difficult due to our inexperience with lengthy boss battles.

At this rate it would be a matter of time before we started making fatal mistakes. Klein understood the need to alter our approach and decided to switch things up a little: he told Kunimittz to fall back and be on standby, and ordered Issin to replace the axe user as a tank. A minute later, I was told to swap positions with Kunimittz, and afterwards I switched places with Dynamm.

Under this new rotation system one person would be on standby at any given time. This meant each and every one of us eventually had the opportunity to rest up, as well as recover HP. While these short breaks were insufficient to completely remove our fatigue, they were what we needed to sustain us through the rest of the battle. The downside was that damage output was decreased since there were only two attackers instead of three (reducing the number of tanks would be too risky) but this was a necessary sacrifice.

Our morale surged to fever pitch upon seeing Redfang's HP drop below half of its last bar. We relentlessly resisted the grey kobold's assaults and frantically threw ourselves at it whenever an opening was present. It was as if the exhaustion plaguing us was forgotten in an instant. H1 ran Redfang through with his spear and the battle drew to an end. We screamed in triumph at the top of our lungs as the 'victory' screen popped up. Too worn out from the fight, I hit the sack without even eating dinner. The next day, everyone left to do their own thing: Klein's party continued challenging the labyrinth, Argo left to attend to her info broker needs, Kirito decided to accompany Argo while Liz and I left for the one village on Floor 1 which we had yet to visit.

* * *

On the twenty-sixth day of the death game Liz and I received a message from Argo telling us to attend a meeting at Tolbana Town in the afternoon. Apparently someone wished to make an announcement regarding the Floor Boss, so the two of us made haste for said safe zone.

Quite a large number of players had gathered at the amphitheatre at the middle of the town. Everyone was seated on the long stone seats of the structure, chatting amongst themselves. Liz spotted Klein's party somewhere among the stands and we walked over to them.

"Hey Elo! 'Sup Liz!"

"Hi Dale!"

"Hey yourself man. Dude, you're eating popcorn? This ain't no cinema."

"Listen Elo, the right place for popcorn is everywhere and the right time is anytime, you feel me?"

"Okay kids, this right here is a prime example of how to turn into a fatass," Klein chimed in.

"Shut up man! I'm not fat, I'm just big-boned!"

"A-ny-ways, have you guys seen Argo or Kirito?" Liz asked.

"Nope, but I'm sure they'll be here any moment. They're not going to miss a strategy meeting concerning the Floor Boss."

"Fair enough." Liz and I plopped down next to Klein's party, each of us grabbing a handful of popcorn from Dale in the process. Moments later a blue-haired man strode onto the amphitheatre's stage; I recognised him to be Diavel, someone who I spoke with briefly in Splitura Village.

"Listen up! I'll be starting the conference now!" Diavel announced, clapping his hands. Everybody quieted down and turned their attention to the cheerful speaker. "Thank you, everyone, for responding to my invitation. My name's Diavel, and my class is... informally, knight!"

I didn't quite understand what he meant, but apparently what Diavel said was some sort of joke, because people responded with laughter. A couple of players started mocking the self-acclaimed knight.

"All right, settle down people," Diavel said as he gestured for everyone to quiet down. All of a sudden, his expression turned severe, catching probably most of the audience off guard.

"Today, on the highest level of the labyrinth, my party discovered the boss room!" Diavel declared. He paused for a moment to allow us to take in this vital piece of information.

"It's been almost a whole month, but now is the time to beat the boss and reach the 2nd floor! Friends, you have all done well to endure for so long. As the best of the best, we'll show everyone that this death game can be cleared! It's our responsibility to do so! Don't you agree, everyone!?"

The enthusiastic cheers and loud applause would make any politician jealous. Diavel was clearly leadership material, if his ability to inspire people was any indication. It was reassuring having someone like him as our de facto leader. When I first met him, I thought he seemed quite capable; I was glad to see that my expectations were surpassed.

"Hold on a second!" The cheering stopped, and all eyes fell on a short yet solidly built man with a large blade strapped to his back. I don't know the specific word to describe the colour of his spiky hair but it was a mixture of brown and orange.

 _How can anyone not feel embarrassed rocking such an ugly hairstyle? Dude, I have no idea who you are but Imma have to roast you. Boi why the hell do you have a cactus growing outta your head!? Who planted cactus seeds in your brain? Or is that Bowser Jr.'s shell painted in a different colour? Man, was your barber your ex or something? 'Cause your barber must hate you to jack up your hair like that. And dude, how the hell are you so short!? Are you related to Argo? You're so tiny that you make friggin' Bilbo Baggins look like a giant!_

"My name's Kibaou! I gotta get something off my chest before the boss fight." Everyone watched curiously as the man inhaled a deep breath.

"Show yourselves you cowardly beta testers! C'mon out and apologise to the two thousand people who died so far!"

Wait, what?

"You bastards abandoned us beginners at the start of this shitty death game! Those two thousand people died because you guys were too busy hogging everything to yourselves to help us!"

Whaaaaaaaaaat!?

"You should get down to your knees and apologise to us, you selfish bitches! Give us all your money and items right now!"

Aight, hold up. Who's mans is this!? Someone's lost his goddamn mind.

Mourning the deceased was one thing, but blaming all the deaths on the beta testers was just plain wrong. At the beginning everyone was presented with three choices: stay in the Town of Beginnings, leave the safe zone and fight to stay alive, or take the easy way out by jumping off a cliff. Those two thousand people made their choice and died as a result of their own decisions; nobody was forced to suicide or leave the Town of Beginnings. Specific cases aside, the only people who were responsible for the two thousand deaths were those two thousand people themselves and Kayaba Akihiko.

Also, what was the point of preaching hate towards the people on our side? Beta tester or not, all of us were unwilling participant, victims of Kayaba Akihiko's evil schemes. Rather than promoting strife within the players, cooperating to clear this disgusting death game would be the sensible move. Besides, it wasn't as if anyone was obligated to aid the new players. Perhaps it may be unkind for those with knowledge or power to not extend a helping hand to those in need, but they had the freedom to prioritise their own safety over everyone else's.

What little faith I had in humanity disappeared when other people in the crowd started agreeing with cactus head. Instead of discussing a strategy to deal with the Floor Boss, which was exactly the whole point of the meeting, those people were trying to make a scapegoat out of their allies. Klein looked like he was ready to throw hands and I was about to get down there and give Kibaou a piece of my mind, but someone acted before we could do anything.

"May I speak?" The deep, accented voice belonged to a muscular, dark skinned giant of a man. Kibaou couldn't help but shudder as the colossus stood up and stepped towards him.

"My name's Agil," he declared, casting a quick glance at the now silent audience. "Kibaou, you're basically saying that the newbies died because the former testers didn't help them, so they ought to take responsibility by paying reparations. Did I leave anything out?"

"N-no, that's everything. Do you know any beta testers?" Agil was much bigger than the average Japanese male while Kibaou was shorter than average so Agil towered over him; the shorter man had to crane his neck just to look the foreigner in his eyes. Kibaou deserved credit for trying to keep a tough exterior but it was clear he was unnerved by the large man. Instead of responding to Kibaou, Agil turned to face the people in the stands as he produced a booklet which I recognised to be Argo's strategy guide.

"Does this look familiar?" Agil asked, holding up the manual for everyone to see. Not a single person failed to recognise the widely distributed handbook. "Well, Kibaou? Do you know what this is?"

"Y-yeah, that's field guide, what about it?"

"Tell me, has this guidebook ever been useful to you? Would you say that it has helped you to stay alive?"

"W-what's your point!?" Kibaou demanded. He was probably stressed out by Agil's intimidating size and piercing glare.

" **Yes or no?"** Agil growled.

"Y-y-yes! It's been really helpful!" Kibaou squeaked out.

Damn son, you just got wrecked.

"The people who created and gave out these guidebooks were former beta testers," Agil announced, his revelation surprising most of the people seated in the stands. I felt disappointed that so many people failed to make such an obvious deduction. How else could the detailed strategy guides be produced so swiftly?

"Listen, information from the beta test was available to everyone. Yes, many people died, but that was also because of mistakes on their part. Anyways, we're holding this meeting to discuss how to defeat the boss, not to antagonise our fellow players."

Finally, someone with a working brain!

Knowing that he'd met his match, Kibaou could do nothing but shut up and sit down. Having made his point, Agil also returned to the stands. I resolved to keep my eyes on the giant axe-wielder. He was a sensible person who was unafraid to voice his opinion; surely such a man would make a great ally down the road.

"Thank you for your inputs Kibaou and Agil. Now, let's get back on topic. The truth is, all the information on the Floor Boss can be found in the latest version of the guidebook. Make sure you go and grab a copy at the NPC store. Now, I'll go over the intel about the boss…" Claws and Argo had told me everything I needed to know about Illfang so I didn't really learn anything new. Afterwards, the (approximately) fifty players were divided into five different groups: teams A and B consisted of tanks, teams C and D were made up of DPS players and team E was the diversion squad. Klein's party ended up in team A, with the exception of H1 who would be in team C with me. As a spear user, H1 wasn't suited to fight as a tank. Both Kirito and Liz were part of the diversion team so they partied together for the boss fight.

After the meeting I spent some time catching up with Diavel. It was an honour to know that sir knight remembered my humble existence. Since Diavel was the leader of team C, we would be fighting together tomorrow. Wishing each other luck and promising to celebrate after the boss fight, we parted ways.

* * *

"Ya done preparin' for tomorrow?"

"Yup, I've done everything I can: repaired my equipment, restocked on items. I don't have enough EXP to level up before the boss fight tomorrow so no point wasting my energy grinding," I answered. I was lounging on my bed when Argo dropped by the inn to pay me a visit.

"Nervous, aren't ya."

"Who wouldn't be?"

"I happen to know a good place for relievin' stress if yer interested," Argo offered.

"I didn't know brothels existed in SAO," I replied with a grin. Argo simply rolled her eyes.

"Well? Ya comin'?"

"Meh, why not. Anything's better than lying around feeling anxious."

"Perfect, let's go to the Teleportation Gate. Liz should be waitin' for us there."

* * *

"Oh my, this is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you three?"

"Yo, Sasha! We came to play with the kiddies," Argo cheerfully replied. Turned out the midget's idea of stress relief was spending time in the orphanage in the Town of Beginnings.

"That's very kind of you. Please, come in and make yourself at home."

Quite a few of the children recognised Argo and welcomed her with open arms, though none of them remembered Liz and I from our brief visit on day two of the death game – not that I was expecting any of them to. Initially the little kids were wary of the two unfamiliar faces, which was fair enough considering stranger danger, but they quickly warmed up to us once Argo and Sasha assured them that we were 'good people'.

"Here."

"Thank you," I said as I accepted a glass of tea offered to me by Sasha. Interacting with the children was more tiring than I expected and it wasn't too long before I found myself needing to take a breather.

"No, I should thank you for taking the time to entertain the children. Although they've mostly adjusted to life in SAO, they do get bored from time to time."

"Truth to be told, we had an ulterior motive for visiting the orphanage," I confessed. "Have you heard about tomorrow's boss fight?"

"Yes, my friends told me about it."

"Liz and I will be participating in the raid. We were feeling really anxious about the whole thing, and Argo thought spending time here with the children would help us loosen up, which is why we came to visit."

"I see. The children and I will be rooting for you tomorrow."

"Thanks. Looks like I've got myself a crowd, so I've gotta put up a performance. At any rate, playing with the kids has been a surprisingly effective stress reliever. I might drop by more often in the future if I can make time."

"You are always welcome to come and visit us. That goes for Liz too." The front door opened and two small figures entered the building.

"Miss Sasha, we're back." The voice belonged to a young girl whose brown hair was tied into twin tails, courtesy of a pair of red ring baubles. She was wearing a Fur Chestplate over a red one piece with yellow edges. Her clothes exposed her neck and part of her shoulders. Next to her was a little boy who was more or less her age and height, and was also equipped with the standard SAO beginner gear.

"Welcome back, Silica, 21. Was everything alright?"

"Yes, nothing noteworthy happened. We bought everything you asked for," Silica answered. Noticing my presence, she looked at me questioningly; I gave her a friendly smile and waved back.

"Hi there! Silica, right? It's nice to meet you, my name's LOL. I'm friends with Sasha," I introduced myself while maintaining my friendly expression.

"It's nice to meet you too," Silica replied politely. I switched my gaze from Silica to her companion.

"I like your name, it's creative! But why pick twenty-one? Is it your favourite number?"

"21 is only a nickname, it's not my real name. My name is actually 9 + 10," 21 explained.

"Aha! Now I get it, that's pretty smart!" I said with a laugh. "Well, if I had to create a username using only numbers, I'd probably go with 69 because that's what I like." The two innocent children didn't get the dirty reference, but I could see Sasha's judging expression out of the corner of my eye.

"Silica, 21, thank you for your help. Argo's here as well, why don't you go say hi to her? I'll start making dinner in ten minutes' time so come to the kitchen and help me out then, ok?"

"They seem quite reliable," I commented as I watched the two children head in Argo's direction.

"Yes, they are. As the oldest of the group, they feel that they have a responsibility to take care of the young ones so they've been helping me out. I know that Argo's too busy to stay for dinner, but you and Liz are welcome to eat with us."

"Gladly! Tomorrow we shall take down the kobold king and his army, but tonight we feast!" I declared dramatically.

* * *

 **A/N: Although I've pretty much planned out the entire story, I am unable to produce the actual chapters as quickly as I'd like to due to my inferior writing skills. As such, I would like you all to be patient with this amateur writer.**

 **First things first, some of you may notice that Clausewitz's personality is kind of inconsistent with earlier chapters. That's because I realised that the silent, somewhat antisocial attitude he had was too similar to other character(s) in this story. Hence, he will be much more vocal and friendlier from this chapter onwards.**

 **Many characters made their debut in this chapter: Kirito, Silica, Kibaou, Agil and our third OC of the story, the little boy known as 21. He is Silica's friend and one of the children under Sasha's care.**

 **Some of you may be wondering about the story's pairings. I've already decided on the pairing for LOL – which will of course remain a secret. As for Kirito, I'm likely going to go with the canon but I'd like to explore some other possibilities before making a decision.**

 **Last time I mentioned wanting to change some things in the previous chapters but for now I'll focus on getting new chapters out. Modifications will be for another day.**

 **Once again, my profile page has information regarding all OC characters so feel free to check it out. Also, omake below.**

* * *

Omake: Foolishness

Despite having worked non-stop for many hours, the elderly inn barkeep continued to prepare and serve beverages at the back and call of his customers, his face showing no sign of exhaustion. The other NPCs have already 'gone home', but the old man would still be active for at least the next couple of hours.

"Here's your cider lad." Dynamm directed an appreciative nod towards the barkeep. Although the old man was not a real human and thus did not warrant any gestures of thanks for his services, he had found it easier to simply treat the NPCs as if they were real humans.

"Be careful, you don't want to get a hangover tomorrow." Dynamm did not even need to look to identify the speaker. After all, he had been hearing that particular voice for the majority of his life.

"You of all people should know that I've got amazing alcohol tolerance, Klein."

"Whatever you say, Bacchus." Klein took a seat next to his best friend and ordered a drink for himself. Upon receiving his glass, Klein held it up and extended it towards Dynamm.

"For victory."

"For victory," Dynamm responded clinking glasses with Klein. Both men downed their drinks. It was not often for Klein to be seen without his bandana or for Dynamm to be seen without his durag, but both men had been in bed moments ago and had not bothered to re-equip their headgear.

"Out of everyone in our group, I never thought you'd be the one who couldn't fall asleep, Mr professional sleeper," Klein commented.

"Even pros have off days. Seriously though, of all the times to get insomnia it had to be tonight."

"Tough. It feels kinda surreal to be fighting the Floor Boss tomorrow. I'm scared as hell, but I'm also excited to finally have a chance to make some progress after so long."

"Yeah, I feel you. According to the guidebook, Illfang's stats aren't too high, and we've already got a good game plan for tomorrow. Things should be alright," Dynamm said, though he didn't sound to confident in his own words.

"Fair enough. Illfang's stat parameters don't seem to be too high, and we already have a game plan for tomorrow. Things should be alright," Dynamm said, though the man didn't sound to convinced himself. Klein knew that there was little he could do about his best friend's nervousness – he himself felt exactly the same way – and decided not to comment on it.

"You're right. Hey, I'm kinda glad that Illfang has a pretty standard design. I'd hate to fight some kind of grotesque creature which has, I don't know, eyes and mouths all over its body or something. It's hard to kill something you're freaked out by."

"Personally, I think an ugly-ass monster with a weapon the size of a skyscraper is fucking scary. Seriously, only humans are stupid enough to challenge something like that to a fight instead of staying the hell away."

"If you think about it, humans are generally pretty foolish. I mean, what kind of creature complains about the summer heat while navigating the streets in a moving metal container (cars)?"

"Good point." The two men sat in silence before Klein got up.

"Try to get some sleep at least," he said, resting his hand on Dynamm's shoulder before returning to his room.


	6. Kobold Army's End (2 of 2)

Ch.6 – Kobold Army's end (2/2)

"…That's all from me. Any questions before we head in?" Diavel asked the raid party. The fifty or so players were gathered at the entrance to the large boss room on the highest floor of the labyrinth. The atmosphere was so tense that one could cut it with a knife; many people had been enthusiastic about defeating the Floor Boss yesterday but all of their eagerness had vanished into thin air.

The door to the boss room was gigantic and peculiar: it was golden, with strange black patterns inscribed on it. The number '1', expressed in Roman numerals, was engraved onto the middle of the curious door. In contrast to the golden base and dark decorative markings, the large 'I' gleamed with an eerie red.

"... Alright, then I have just one more thing to say: all of you, let's win!" Everyone steeled themselves as Diavel turned around and placed his hand on the door. "Here we go!"

At first the boss room was completely dark. Diavel cautiously edged forward, shield in left hand and sword in right. Directly behind him were those of team E, the diversion squad. I couldn't see them from where I was standing but I knew Kirito and Liz were among that group. Suddenly, the whole room lit up and our enemies became visible to us.

Three armored kobolds sat before a throne. Behind them was the king of kobolds in all his glory, a great axe lying on his right and a sturdy shield on his left. Illfang reached for his tools of massacre and propped himself up using the long handle of his weapon while his minions got into a battle stance. With a bloodcurdling roar, the king and his soldiers charged.

"Everything matches the intel. We can win this!" Diavel yelled, snapping everyone to attention. He pointed his sword at the rapidly approaching monsters. "Commence attack! Team E forward!"

Illfang had stopped its advance but his three minions continued to rush at us. The diversion squad intercepted them, successfully halting the Ruin Kobold Sentinels in their tracks. Meanwhile the main team moved past them to engage the boss.

The red kobold sneered as it raised its shield and drew its axe backwards.

"All teams evade! Team C on standby!" Diavel commanded. Everyone immediately fell back, watching from a safe distance as Illfang unleashed two mighty axe swings in quick succession before jumping upwards. Upon landing the kobold swiftly brought its axe downwards, the heavy weapon slamming onto the ground before it. We could feel the power behind the attack despite being out of range.

That three-hit combo was clearly NOT something a human could withstand.

"ATTACK NOW!"

With Diavel at the helm team C ran towards Illfang. The blue-haired 'knight' landed two slashes on Illfang's stomach, drawing first (and second) blood. H1 leapt towards Illfang and pierced it with his spear. I dealt a light blow with my Iron Scimitar before unleashing the Sword Skill Slant, slicing diagonally upwards from right to left.

"Fall back! Team A get ready! Team D on standby!" We beat a hasty retreat before Illfang could attack us. The giant kobold snarled and gave chase as we ran back to our comrades. Diavel kept an eye on the pursuing monster.

"It's pattern B! Prepare to intercept!"

"Got it! LET'S GO!" Agil shouted as he led his team forward. The large foreigner swung his two-handed axe, countering the monster's attack with the help of his teammates. The impact of the clashing weapons knocked Illfang off balance, and team D took the chance to rush at the boss.

Agil was in charge of one squadron of tanks while Kibaou headed the other. As the leaders of their respective groups those two were sound choices: the former's fearlessness and battle prowess were comforting to his men, and his cool-headedness meant it was unlikely he would make any stupid decisions. As for the latter, despite his faults Kibaou was bold enough to throw himself into the fray. His willingness to get involved inspired his teammates to do the same.

Team B successfully deflected another one of Illfang's strikes, causing the red kobold to stagger.

"TEAM C! FORWARD!"

We were hesitant during our initial charge but this time we were confident. Witnessing the effectiveness of our strategy firsthand made two things clear: Illfang was not invincible and we had a solid chance at winning. At Diavel's command we made a mad dash at Illfang with the ferocity of a pack of hungry lions. The creature cried out in pain as various bits of metal penetrated, smashed and cut into its flesh.

We can beat this thing! That was what everyone thought.

Diavel was extraordinarily capable as the commander of the raid party. He accurately predicted Illfang's movements and knew by heart the optimal response to each of its different patterns. When it came to giving orders his timing was impeccable, and his strong, loud voice allowed his instructions to be clearly heard despite the chaos of the battlefield.

"We're almost done with Illfang's first HP bar! Expect more sentinels to spawn soon!" Diavel yelled at the diversion squad.

"Alright, thanks!" Some unknown player replied determinedly.

An angry roar, a ferocious assault and another failed attempt to take our lives left Illfang wide open once again. Team D's unrelenting attack finally emptied Illfang's first bar, and we were a quarter of the way done with this fight.

With an HP bar lost Illfang began to fight differently. Initially its aggressive actions left it completely vulnerable to our counterattacks, but now its approach had become noticeably more cautious: every time it finished executing an attack, Illfang would jump some distance backwards and raise its shield before the post motion penalty kicked in. This new defensive manoeuvre made things much more difficult for teams C and D, not only due to the increased distance effectively reducing the amount of time the attackers had before Illfang recovered from post motion but also because its gigantic, damage-negating shield made frontal assaults useless, forcing us to attack from the side. On the bright side our strategy still remained effective. As powerful as Illfang was, the king of kobolds was outmatched by the four squadrons of assassins who were slowly but surely whittling through his HP.

"Doing okay Elo?" H1 asked me as the battle raged on.

"Fine, at least I'm still breathing. You alright?"

"Heh, I'm feeling better than ever!"

While the other teams were handling Illfang I snuck a glance at the diversion squad. In spite of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels' higher levels team E seemed to be holding their own. I spotted the trio of Kirito, Liz and some hooded fencer overwhelming one of the minions with a flurry of attacks.

"Team A get ready! Team C on standby!"

 _Wait for it..._

"GO!" My team rushed forward with bloodlust that would make Koro-sensei proud. Sonic Leap. Horizontal. Get out of attack range and wait. Rinse and repeat.

Klein and his buddies (barring H1 who was with me) were doing quite well as part of Agil's squad; I suppose it was a good thing they ended up in team A rather than team B since they weren't particularly fond of Kibaou's anti beta tester stance. Unlike our fight with Redfang, during which we were probably slightly undermanned, this time we had more than enough substitutes on the raid group so fatigue was not an issue.

It took us a long time but we finally emptied Illfang's second HP bar. Halfway there and the raid party was still going strong. Morale was high; we were encouraged by our more than decent progress. According to Argo's intel Illfang switched weapons upon losing two-thirds of its HP so I wasn't caught off guard when the boss later threw away its axe and shield, its enraged roar shaking the whole room.

"We'll use the same strategy for Illfang's second phase! Team B move to intercept! Team C prepare to attack!" The kobold king menacingly placed a hand on his sheathed weapon as Diavel gave the order for Team B to charge. The group of tanks were closing in on the monster when it suddenly drew out its second weapon – a giant Japanese sword – in one smooth motion.

"NO! GET BACK!" My eyes widened; that was Kirito's voice! Diavel gasped, probably realising the reason behind Kirito's fear but it was too late for him to do anything. Illfang bent its knees and sprung at the advancing team B members. It raised its massive katana and swung down, prompting the tanks to counter with their own Sword Skills.

The downwards strike was a feint.

Illfang stopped mid-slash and brought its blade to its side. With a triumphant roar it swung savagely, the impact of the horizontal cut sending the hapless players of team B flying backwards. Those who were knocked down could not get up, much less retreat to safety due to the stun effect of Illfang's new Sword Skill.

"TEAM C, WE'LL DISTRACT ILLFANG! TEAM D GET THE STUNNED PLAYERS TO SAFETY!" By the time Diavel's urgent command registered in our minds he was already sprinting forward. He ran past the immobilised players towards Illfang, hopping back as the monstrosity swung its blade at him, the tip barely missing his body. Instead of pressing forwards, Diavel opted to wait for his opponent's next move. He sidestepped a downward slash and bolted towards Illfang, scoring a hit with Sonic Leap and landing behind the large monster. Illfang turned and slashed at Diavel who didn't have enough time to evade due to the post motion effect of his sword skill. He did manage to block the large katana with his shield but the force of the attack sent him flying into one of the room's stone pillars.

Our leader's efforts opened up a valuable opportunity for us. With Illfang facing the other way we unleashed a barrage of Sword Skills on the vulnerable creature's backside causing it to stagger forward and cry out in pain. Team D seized the chance to evacuate the paralysed players.

"Team C retreat! Team A block the next hit!" Diavel yelled. We hurriedly ran behind the team of tanks. Illfang snarled furiously and charged at us but Agil and the others successfully kept it at bay.

Thanks to everyone's efforts we were able to recover from the mishap at the beginning of Illfang's second phase without losing a single person. For a while we played defensively, cautiously fending off Illfang while observing its new attack patterns. Once we had gotten used to the Floor Boss's second phase we began to go on the offensive; many blows later we reduced Illfang's HP to a quarter of its full amount. However, things unexpectedly took a turn for worse. Throughout the whole fight, at any given time there were no more than three Ruin Kobold Sentinels; upon losing its third HP bar eight of them spawned.

"DIAVEL! HELP!" Team E were quickly overwhelmed by the unexpectedly large number of elite mobs. Fearing for Liz and Kirito's safety, I was prepared to rush to their side to help them.

"Damn it! Lind, take your team and support them!" Team D immediately rushed to the smaller squad's aid. Thankfully, the well-timed command prevented any unfortunate casualties. I sighed in relief and turned my focus to the boss. Despite the reduction in the main force's manpower Illfang was still losing in this battle of attrition; it could do naught but vainly resist as drops of HP slipped through the gaps in its hands like fine grains of sand.

The boss raid was finally reaching its conclusion.

"Stay back, I've got this!" Diavel yelled as he charged up a powerful-looking Sword Skill. With his blade enveloped in a luminous yellow light he ran at Illfang. Everyone was surprised by his decision to go solo but otherwise obeyed, watching as the 'knight' dashed on ahead. One person, however, chose to ignore his command.

Certainly, Diavel had shown that he was capable of holding his own against for Illfang for a bit, yet I couldn't help but feel it was too risky for our leader to engage the boss without any help. After a few seconds of thinking things through, I sprang to action, intent on chasing down Diavel. My actions must have surprised quite a few people but nobody attempted to stop me.

Diavel was a couple steps away from striking range when Illfang suddenly leapt backwards well out of range. He could do nothing but watch as his charged up attack dissipated. The Sword Skill he unleashed was powerful but also had a relatively long post motion so Diavel was paralysed and completely wide open.

The king of kobolds roared and clutched its nodachi with both hands. It bent down before springing high up.

I ran with all my might.

Illfang reached the apex of its jump with its weapon raised above its head.

I was literally a step away from reaching Diavel who was still frozen from his failed attack.

Illfang began descending rapidly.

In one swift motion I dropped my sword, grabbed onto Diavel's torso and half-flung, half-shoved him away with all my strength.

Illfang swung its blade vertically as it landed. Diavel was saved from being cleaved into two; I was not so fortunate. The katana sliced through my body, and I helplessly watched as my HP quickly decreased.

Within the next few seconds not a single drop remained.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Diavel lying on the ground with a horrified expression on his face.

 _So this is how I end, huh..._

With that last thought I disintegrated into a million tiny pieces.

...

Just kidding!

The massive nodachi slammed onto the ground right beside my body, the sheer impact throwing me off balance. I was forced to take a couple of steps to stay on my feet, and had barely steadied myself when Illfang brought its shining blade backwards and then slashed horizontally.

 _Crap!_

I shut my eyes and braced myself, waiting for my imminent end. For a moment my body felt extremely light, almost as if gravity lost its hold on me. A few seconds passed by but the blow never came. Slowly and hesitantly I opened my eyes. Illfang, Diavel, the rest of the raid party, all of it had disappeared. I was no longer inside the boss room but was standing in the middle of Tolbana Town. I wasn't dead yet – my HP bar was proof of that, but I didn't have the faintest idea as to why I was inside the safe zone when I was about to be executed by the Floor Boss a moment ago.

"That was a dangerous gambit but in paid off in the end. Perhaps fortune really does favour the bold." I looked to my left to see Claws approach me. His expression was uncharacteristically tense. "You were lucky Kirito was able to get within range and use his Teleport Crystal in time."

As useful as Teleport Crystals were, they had a rather limited range of effect. Kirito, who was fighting the Ruin Kobold Sentinels alongside the rest of teams D and E at the back of the boss room, was too far away to use the item on me; he must've sprinted all the way past the other raid party members until he was close enough to teleport me out of the boss room. I don't know when he started running, but by the time he was able to activate the crystal and get me to safety I was seconds away from being executed.

Man, talk about good timing!

"That explains everything – wait a sec, how'd you know what just happened?"

"Look up." I did as told, and was shocked to see multiple large rectangular screens suspended in midair showing a muted livestream of the boss battle. Each screen displayed a different angle of the boss room; I later learned that these livestream monitors appeared in other settlements as well. To my horror the main squad was in utter disarray: Agil and his teammates were the only ones engaging Illfang but they were barely holding on. The other players were either sprawled out on the ground or busy fleeing from the rampaging kobold.

With its katana glowing white Illfang unleashed a brutal slash. Agil's team successfully defended against the attack but the group of tanks were scattered by the follow-up strike. Team A did not fight in vain; their efforts allowed Diavel, who had been some distance behind Illfang, sufficient time to charge up the same powerful Sword Skill he had attempted earlier. He ran at the rampaging kobold and thrust his sword into its back, causing the giant monster to roar in agony and stumble forward; sadly the attack failed to finish it off. Perhaps Illfang would have perished if the attack struck its weak spot – the neck – but a stab to its back was insufficient to cause its demise. Furious, the Floor Boss whipped around and grabbed Diavel with its free hand. It was about to hurl him like a baseball but stopped and shifted its attention to two rapidly approaching figures.

Illfang roared and slashed horizontally; Kirito smoothly transitioned from his sprint to a slide, ducking beneath the sharp blade as he glided on the marble floor. His hooded partner stepped backwards, easily evading at the last second by moving out of range. Kirito pushed off the ground with his left hand, took a few steps, sprang upwards and hacked Illfang's left wrist, releasing Diavel from its deadly grasp. The cloaked fencer followed up the assault and lunged at Illfang. The rapier wielder was about puncture the beast full of holes but the kobold king suddenly let loose a swift downwards slash.

The fencer somehow avoided the attack by twisting in midair, though the katana ripped the red cloak to shreds, revealing the young girl hidden underneath the red fabric. And DAMN, what a looker she was! She had long, chestnut hair and a stunning figure most girls would kill to have. Wearing a dark red leather tunic, leather pants and knee-high boots, the mid-teen was the very epitome of beauty. If I had to rank her on a scale of one to ten, with ten representing 'drop dead gorgeous', she'd easily be a hundred! On a side note, Liz would be a solid 7 and Argo would be a -5000 (I'm being fairly kind here), but I digress.

Unfazed by the close call, the long-haired goddess unleashed a barrage of quick thrusts that sent the giant monster flying backwards. Kirito began moving even before Illfang hit the floor. He ran up to the heavily injured creature and swung his blade horizontally from right to left, mercilessly cutting Illfang across the face. A backhanded slash from the black-haired swordsman left another wound on the kobold's head. Kirito lowered his sword slightly and slashed diagonally upwards, but didn't stop even after the attack connected; using the momentum from his third strike, he spun around to deliver a fourth blow.

Illfang shrieked and disintegrated into miniscule pieces. The king was slain, the battle over.

" **Attention: This is a system announcement. Floor 1 has been cleared. Casualties: zero."** Despite the chaotic finish everyone survived the boss raid. I began cheering at the top of my lungs as the floating livestream screens disappeared from the sky.

"Congratulations, that happy ending was well deserved," Claws commented after I had calmed down. "We should get moving. I told Argo we'd meet her on the second floor."

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

Message Log

 **You have three new messages**

 _From: Lisbeth_

 _Text: We won! Thanks to that stunt you pulled there were no casualties this time :) There's something I need to talk with you and Argo about, so msg me when you arrive Floor 2 pls_

 _From: Klein_

 _Text: We beat Illfang with 0 deaths! My man, you've got huge balls for trying to save Diavel like that! Apparently there's gonna be a celebration tonight in Urbus – that's the main settlement on Floor 2. Let's meet up then!_

 _From: Argo_

 _Text: Yo I'm wif Liz rite now. We'll drop by after u and Claws find an inn and settle down. Also u scared the shit outta me! Seriously, try not to do somethin so reckless again!_

* * *

"I don't know whether to punch ya for bein' an idiot or praise ya for being brave, but I will say this: good job today. Ya were fantastic," Argo praised with a grin. My mentor, Liz and I were chatting in Claws' room. The strategist was busy working away at his desk but still partook in the ongoing conversation.

"A large part of it was dumb luck but thanks, I'll take the compliment."

"It's a pity I couldn't bear witness to your heroic moment, I was too busy fending off the sentinels to look your way," Liz commented.

"Don't worry, I recorded the whole fight," Claws said as he held up a triangular crystal. My eyes widened upon seeing the extremely expensive Record Crystal.

"Hey, doesn't that cost a fortune!?" Liz asked incredulously.

"Indeed it does. While I abhor spending large sums of money, having a video recording of the boss fight will allow for detailed analysis which may prove useful in the future."

"Mr penny-pincher was probably cryin' his eyes out while forkin' over all that cash."

"For the millionth time, Argo, I am not a penny-pincher! I am simply economical with the resources available to me," Claws answered exasperatedly.

 _... I'm pretty sure they're the same thing, but okay._

"Oh yeah, wasn't there something you wanted to discuss, Liz?" Upon hearing the question my friend's expression turned sour. Argo looked pretty peeved as well.

"The livestream screens may have showed you what happened during the fight but you guys missed out on what happened afterwards," Liz said. "Things were perfectly fine at first: everyone was celebrating, exhilarated that we cleared the boss without any deaths. Lots of people were praising Kirito who was without a doubt the MVP of the raid. But then, that bastard ruined everything!"

"By 'that bastard', you mean..."

"The leader of team D, a disgrace of a man called Lind," Argo answered in a frustrated tone. "That asshole accused Kii-bou of attemptin' to leave Diavel to die. He claimed that Kii-bou purposely withheld info from the beta test so as to kill Diavel and keep the L.A. (Last Attack Bonus) all to himself."

 _What the FUCK is wrong with some people!?_

"That's ridiculous! How can he say all that crap when Kirito was the one who saved Diavel at the end!? Besides, the beta testers couldn't have known that Illfang would use a nodachi instead of a talwar during its second phase– the guide book which is based on info from the beta is proof of that!" I protested angrily.

"That's exactly what Asu said," Argo replied through gritted teeth. "But then Lind accused ME of workin' with Kii-bou to spread misinformation. Goddammit, can't people just be grateful for once instead of throwin' pointless tantrums that don't help nobody!?"

"Please don't tell me the other players agreed with Lind," I begged.

"... I'd say it was about fifty-fifty," Liz said. "Kibaou was Lind's most outspoken supporter while Agil, Asuna and Klein were the most vocal in opposing them. It quickly escalated to the point where pretty much all of us were arguing with one another."

"Two quick questions: firstly, who's Asuna? Secondly, how did Diavel react to the whole ordeal?" I asked.

"Oh, Asu is the fencer who was fightin' by Kii-bou's side. Ya know, the one with orange-brownish hair. As for Diavel, he was mostly silent throughout the whole incident."

"That's good. Diavel would've alienated a considerable number of players if he were to show preference towards either side; by acting as a neutral figure, he'll be able to inspire different people to continue following his commands in the long run," Claws commented. "There's more to your story, isn't there?"

Liz began recalling the tale of a young boy who willingly chose to sacrifice himself for the sake of his peers. In great detail, she told us how Kirito became a messiah by playing the villain: proudly taking on the moniker of 'Beater' – a play on the terms 'cheater' and 'beta tester' – he drew the ire of the disgruntled to him and himself only. It was all because of Kirito that the beta testers were likely safe for the time being. Hearing Liz's story caused my respect for him to grow in leap and bounds; his actions not only rescued the beta testers from a dark future but also protected the unity of the raid party. Our flawless (in the sense that no one died) victory would've been heavily undermined by factionalism and infighting resulting from the beta tester divide; Kirito made sure that didn't happen.

"Kii-bou truly outdid himself this time. Thanks to him we probably won't have to worry about bein' persecuted or anythin' like that, but I'll keep an eye on things just in case," Argo said.

"Yeah, you're right. I've been stressing over the relations between testers and new players but Kirito more or less resolved that issue singlehandedly. Though it may have come at a great cost, I suppose that's one thing dealt with," Claws said with a sigh. "Now, for the next thing at the top of my agenda: having a word with Mr Incompetent."

"Who's that?" I asked. As soon as I finished my question someone knocked on Claws' door.

"Come in, it's unlocked," the tactician said. To my surprise Diavel entered the room. For some reason he seemed rather... remorseful?

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Everyone, I'm sure you know him already but this inept piece of trash is the renowned Mr Incompetent," Claws 'introduced' harshly. Liz and I were caught off guard by the bespectacled teenager's malicious words and ice-cold tone. Diavel didn't react angrily; instead he looked even more ashamed. Wordlessly my mentor stormed over to the new person in the room.

"Argo, I –"

"Grit yer teeth ya bastard." Swiftly equipping a metal claw on her right hand, Argo charged up a Sword Skill and landed a savage slash on Diavel's torso, launching the raid party leader into a wall. He slammed into the wooden partition with a loud 'bang' and fell to his fours, winded from the attack.

 _Holy fucking crap._

"Is the L.A. so important ya'd compromise the safety of the whole raid team!?" Argo roared while grabbing Diavel by the collar. "Answer me! Ya nearly killed my friend, dammit!"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was an idiot for letting my greed blind me." Diavel hung his head in shame. One could practically feel the regret oozing from his words.

"Claws, care to fill us in?" I asked.

"Even though Argo and I warned him countless times to stay vigilant of any changes from the beta test, at the beginning of the second phase he carelessly ordered team B to advance without confirming Illfang's abilities. The worst part, however, was that he foolishly tried to solo the boss at the end – all because he wanted to keep the L.A. to himself. This failure of a leader almost ruined the whole raid TWICE! Tell me Diavel, am I wrong?" The tactician had remained expressionless this whole time but there was no mistaking the venom in his voice.

"N-no, what you said was the truth. Everyone else didn't realise it but I screwed up horribly." The heavy guilt from his mistakes had reduced the raid party leader to nothing more than a shivering, sobbing mess.

 _And so the ugly truth is revealed. Now I understand why Kirito was screaming back then, and why Diavel decided to rush off on his lonesome. I thought that soloing Illfang was a strange move but I chalked it up as a tactical decision on his part... truth really is stranger than fiction._

"One of yer mistakes would've been enough to disqualify anyone from leadin' the raid party, but two? Congratulations Diavel, ya just hit a new low. It's a damn miracle there ain't no blood on your hands! The raid was goin' so well, but ya almost jeopardised the whole fuckin' mission! Ya get a C for ya performance – C for choker!" Argo was ruthless in her all-out verbal assault but Diavel clearly had it coming.

"Apologize to the person who almost died for ya stupidity." Argo unhanded the blue-haired 'knight' but not before giving him a rough shove. Diavel didn't get up; he actually prostrated – yes, you heard that right – before me and began expressing his regret. He was crying so much that his words were barely coherent.

 _I highly doubt he's faking his emotions; seems like he's genuinely repenting his misdeeds. Hmm ... I'll give him some encouragement to help him get back on his feet._

"Forgiveness is earned, not given. Diavel, you must show me – no, show US – that you will never make the same mistakes ever again. Guide us, lead us, act as the leader that you should've been, and help us achieve victory floor after floor after floor. The day we conquer this wretched floating castle will be the day you deserve to be forgiven.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have an opportunity at redemption. You are one of the lucky few to get a second chance at life – don't let it go to waste."

That day Diavel swore a solemn oath. As the man whom every single raid member had entrusted their future to, as the man who carried the lives of everybody insane enough to leave the safety of the Town of Beginnings, he vowed to never ever betray his comrades of the raid party again.

* * *

The players weren't the only ones who were jubilant about our triumph over Illfang. It turned out that the joyous NPCs in Urbus were holding a vibrant _Matsuri_ (Japanese for festival) to commemorate the occasion. Various colourful stalls lined the busy streets, providing a wide selection of goods ranging from different types of food and interesting trinkets to weapons and other forms of equipment.

Most, if not all, of the raid party members were planning to attend the evening's celebrations. It wasn't everyday that the many players of the raid party would be gathered in one place, and I planned to fully capitalise on the rare opportunity to form connections.

 _Hmm ... who should I approach? Acquaintances aside, when thinking about the more prominent members of the raid party, the names Agil, Kibaou and Lind come to mind. While I'm not a fan of either Kibaou or Lind, there's no denying their influence on a significant part of the raid party so being on good terms with them has its merits. More importantly, those two might be willing to share their plans with me if I manage to become friendly with them; that way I'll be able to prevent them from doing anything dangerous or dubious, or at least warn Argo should I fail to stop them. As for Agil, he's a very capable person whom I'm interested in forming a long-term partnership with; if possible, I'd like to take the time to have a DMC (deep meaningful conversation) with the guy to get to know him better; that'd allow me to leave a good impression on him as well._

 _Did I miss anyone important? Oh yeah, can't forget about that hot fencer! What did Argo say was her name again... Asada? No, no way. Oh right, it's Asuna. Hmm ... this one might be a little difficult to approach. For some reason I feel like if I start talking to her out of the blue she might think I'm trying to hit on her and leave. Maybe I should get someone to introduce me to her? Unfortunately, Kirito's unavailable and Argo's too busy to be here. Tch, I'll try to think of something later._

 _Ah, there's one more person who may be worth meeting: team E's leader. Theoretically speaking, he should be a fairly competent fighter if he was assigned to head the diversion squad. From what I've heard he's a friendly, easygoing man called Godfree. Talking to him is the easy part, but how am I supposed to find him when I don't even know what he looks like? I'll have to ask Diavel for help._

 _It's only fair that I meet up with Klein and the others to celebrate our successful raid. Liz said that she'll be seeing a friend but I should also spend some time with her later. I guess I should get Argo and Claws a souvenir or something since they're occupied with work. It's a shame I won't see Kirito tonight; I really want to thank him personally for saving my life. Oh well, I'm sure I'll see him sooner or later. For now I'll just send a message to express my thanks._

 _Work first, play later. Time to go, mission start._

* * *

Finding Kibaou and Lind was a pretty easy task: all I had to do was track down Diavel who was registered on my friends list. Our popular raid party leader was surrounded by a large crowd, cheerfully conversing with his peers. I had to push past quite a few people just to reach him. Diavel responded to my greeting cordially though he refrained from making eye contact; I suppose it was because he still felt guilty about everything that happened. Apparently some people recognised me as I heard quite a few players correctly identify me as 'the guy who saved Diavel'. After exchanging a few friendly words with the blue-haired 'knight' I was introduced to Kibaou and Lind. Both men treated me warmly on account of being the saviour of the well respected Diavel. Conveniently for me, Godfree was also present and I was able to make his acquaintance. As expected, the boss raid was brought up; I received much adulation for my clutch (lucky) performance. The conversation drifted from the events of the battle to its aftermath and things quickly heated up once a certain Beater was mentioned.

"Bastard was acting all high and mighty! Screw that little shit!" Kibaou yelled in frustration. "He didn't deserve the Last Attack Bonus! Diavel did all the work, it should have been his!"

 _Geez, it's amazing how these people don't even acknowledge Kirito saving Diavel. For fuck's sake, all this hate should be directed towards Kayaba Akihiko instead._

"Now, now, people, we all fought our damned hardest today so each of us deserves the L.A. as much as the next person. Plus, there's no denying that the Beater played a large part in the boss fight at the end," Diavel said in a placating tone.

 _Ah, finally! A voice of reason, how refreshing!_

"You're too nice Diavel, but we'll look the other way if you insist," Lind said reluctantly. "However, we're not just going to ignore the fact that he deliberately kept information about the boss to himself!"

 _Oh dear, they still bear a grudge for that. Funny how Kirito is hated and I'm liked, when he's the one who did the saving and I'm the one who's technically guilty for insubordination – after all, I did disobey a direct command from our leader._

Lind's words were met with a chorus of angry rants, though I noticed Diavel and Godfree silently frowning. They seemed annoyed at the actions of their fellow players.

"We should punish the asshole! Make him repent for his misdeeds!" Kibaou declared. The short man was probably going to burst a blood vessel raging. Many of the others, Lind included, loudly agreed with his words.

"Wait, wait, wait a second!" I raised my voice so that everyone could hear me speak. The indignant chatter died down and all eyes were on me. "Certainly, it was unkind of him to not share what he knew with us but that's no excuse for us to respond maliciously! I mean, two wrongs don't make a right, right!?"

 _The last thing we need is for these guys to come up with any stupid ideas! Damn it, I better be able to wing this!_

"We aren't doing anything wrong, LOL. Think about it: as the strongest players in Aincrad, we have a duty to protect the weaker players from evil people like the Beater! Teaching him a lesson is simply an act of justice! Don't you agree!?" Lind argued.

 _Tch, there's no way he didn't plan this answer beforehand! This guy reeks of suspiciousness!_

"Justice, huh? I can't speak for everyone else, but an ignorant teenager like me has no right to mete out justice," I answered with a self-depreciating chuckle. "Lind, you say that punishment will eliminate the possibility of the Beater abusing the other players. Thing is, that boy's actually rather harmless to begin with; stringent measures will serve no purpose but alienate him. Reserve your 'justice' for those who are truly wicked; this time it will do more harm than good."

"What makes you so confident about that?" Some anonymous player challenged.

"I'm sure everyone saw how the Beater rescued Diavel from Illfang. He could've easily waited for the boss to kill our dear leader but chose to intervene." I paused and glanced around. Nobody attempted to dispute my words. "Honestly, I have no idea whether he did that out of necessity or out of compassion for his fellow players; either way it's clear that he cares enough to keep us alive – in other words, he's an ally."

"Why are you even defending that untrustworthy cheater in the first place? Don't tell me you're secretly in cohorts with the Beater!?" An unknown player pointed at me accusingly.

"Don't misunderstand me," I answered with furrowed brows and an edge to my voice. "I dislike him. His selfishness seriously pisses me off. I can't fathom why someone would choose to keep important info about the boss a secret."

 _Lies._

"However, I'm fucking desperate. There are people waiting for me on the other side, and I'll do whatever it takes to return to them. I'll gladly put up with someone I hate if it means clearing the game more quickly!"

 _That's the truth._

"Look, the Beater's pretty damn powerful and he's interested in assisting us so why not make use of him? It'd be stupid to turn away such a powerful asset. Guys, I'm not telling you to stop hating him; I have no right to tell you what to think, what to feel. I'm only trying to offer one important piece of advice: don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. Remember our priorities. Remember the pain we felt on the first day. Remember our true enemy, Kayaba Akihiko."

Silence. My little speech was met with heavy, heavy silence. On the inside I was anxious as hell but I tried my best not to let my nervousness show.

"... Fuck it, you're right. I – we were all too focused on teaching that Beater punk a lesson and completely neglected his ability to do good," Kibaou sighed. "We'll need all the help we can get to beat that motherfucker Kayaba Akihiko, so... as long as the Beater contributes to the boss raids I guess we should leave him alone."

"... Yeah. I hate to say it, but most of us aren't as strong as him yet. Let's rely on him for now; we can deal with him if he becomes a problem in the future," Lind acquiesced.

 _Fucking hell, that was stressful._

I bit back a relieved smile as murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd of players. I had already achieved my aim of making Kibaou, Lind and Godfree's acquaintances so there was no point hanging around; I bid them farewell and headed off to search for a certain giant of a player.

* * *

"Hi there Agil! It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure's mine. Aren't you the boy who saved Diavel? How can I help you?"

"Can I interest you in a little chat? I'd like to get to know my fellow raid party members better."

"Is that so?" Agil stood up, and I was reminded of David and Goliath. "Let's walk while we talk, that way we can enjoy the festivities."

"Sure, let's do that." We strolled through the streets side by side, occasionally stopping by a stall that fascinated us. I swiftly scanned my surroundings to make sure no one could overhear us. Kibaou, Lind and their associates were on the other side of town but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"First things first, thanks for sticking up for the beta testers. A few close friends of mine were participants in the beta test, and it was really nice seeing someone support them for once."

"Don't sweat it kid, I was only doing what was right. You also did a good job convincing Kibaou and the others to cooperate with Mr Beater instead of seeking retribution."

"Oh, you saw that?"

"No, I didn't, but a party member of mine who happened to be where you were told me all about it. From what I've heard, you're pretty good with words."

"I'll gladly trade my talent at bullshitting for a fraction of your fighting ability. Saving Diavel was a complete fluke; I'm not nearly as capable as everyone thinks I am." I briefly stopped by a weapons stall and bought a Sharp Dagger. I had yet to find a preferred fighting style so trying out different weapons was something I was keen to do.

"Hey, I gotta ask you something. Do you really hate the Beater kid that much?" Agil questioned. I quickly looked around to make sure the coast was clear.

"Would you believe me if I told you that the Beater's actually my friend?"

"Seriously?" The doubt in Agil's voice was impossible to miss. "So you were lying earlier when you said that you hated his guts?"

"Exactly, spouting all of that nonsense was just to get on Kibaou and Lind's good side. Although they aren't particularly likeable, securing their friendship is likely to be beneficial in the long run. Say what you will about them, but they sure as hell got clout; if I find myself involved in a dispute with some other players I might be able to count on their support to resolve things.

Also, becoming friends with them will allow me to keep a closer eye on their activities. I'll be able to respond more readily and take countermeasures to protect my friends if those two decide to do something stupid – which is entirely possible given their temperament," I explained.

"... You've certainly thought things through. Hearing you talk about Kibaou and Lind like that makes me wonder if you approached me for similar reasons. You have an ulterior motive for speaking with me, don't you?" Agil questioned with an eyebrow raised.

 _Heh, how perceptive. As I thought, this man is much more than a competent axe-wielder._

"Yes, you're right. To be honest, from the start I was hoping we could become allies."

When trying to gain someone's cooperation, honesty can be the best policy. After all, it is said that trust is the cornerstone of a successful partnership.

"Allies, eh? What do you mean by that? Are you inviting me to join your party?"

"No, that's not it. All I want is for us to support each other during times of need. To put it simply, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Of course, the difference in our overall abilities means that I'll benefit from this partnership more than you will, but in the end it's still a win-win situation."

"I get what you're saying, but why me specifically?"

"From what I've seen, you're one of the rare few who are sensible enough to see the bigger picture. Many players foolishly lose themselves to petty distractions: all those people who had beef with Kiri – er, the Beater – were so caught up in their grudges that they neglected cooperating with him to beat the game. You, Agil, are different.

You don't get caught up in all the bullshit and focus on escaping from SAO; you've got your priorities straight. Not to mention, you're pretty lethal with that axe of yours – the boss raid made that clear. To someone like me who's obsessed with clearing the death game, you are the best ally available."

I extended a hand to Agil. It was up to him to decide whether or not to shake it.

"... Man, you really are an interesting kid. I barely know anything about you, but I think you've got potential. I do want to see how far you can go. Heh, I guess I'm fine with throwing in my lot with you."

Agil firmly grasped my hand.

"I look forward to working with you from now on, partner. Just drop me a message if you need anything."

"Thank you! You won't regret teaming up with me, I promise."

* * *

Asuna was nowhere to be found, and for some reason Liz was somewhere on the first floor so I decided to meet up with Klein and the others since they were closer to where I was. They weren't difficult to locate; all six had been hanging out in a tavern for the last couple of hours.

"Look out guys, here he is! It's the dude with balls of steel!" The six men began applauding upon seeing me enter the building.

"Thank you, thank you, I appreciate the reception!" I grinned as I sat down and joined them. Interacting with these guys always improved my mood.

"Choose anything you want, I'll treat you," Kunimittz said, tossing me a menu. "No alcohol though, you're underage. By the way, where are Argo and Liz?"

"Liz is doing something on Floor 1; Argo is busy scouting ahead to make sure nothing deviates from the beta," I answered while motioning for the NPC waitress to take my order.

"Damn, Argo's working even now? Must be tough on her," Klein commented. "Man, I don't understand how she can dedicate herself to helping everyone even though half the raid team was talking shit about her this afternoon. She sure as hell ain't the hero we deserve, but she's the one we need right now."

"Yup, she's the real MVP. Yo Elo, is there any way we can give her a hand? It's heartrending to see a young girl shoulder the burden of info gathering all by herself," Dynamm said. His friends uttered words of agreement in response.

"On Argo's behalf, let me thank you all for your goodwill," I said appreciatively. It was uplifting to see that someone was thankful for my mentor's work for once. "Hmm... I don't think you guys have to do anything special for her. Just keep an eye out for anything interesting and notify Argo or me if you guys discover something."

"I guess that's fair enough... hey guys, why don't we make a donation to Argo? I'm sure she wouldn't mind receiving a little financial support, and it'd also be a good way to express our thanks," H1 suggested.

"Great idea man! Yo fellas, I'm gonna give away all of my snack money so ya'll better chip in!" The statement caused all of us to look at Dale with widened eyes.

"Wait, don't be rash dude. I appreciate the gesture but I don't want you to have snack withdrawals or anything," I said to the chubby man.

"Dude, I really ain't that bad!"

"Looks like you guys are having quite a lively discussion. What's up?" We turned our heads to see that Liz had arrived. We all made space as she grabbed a vacant stool and placed it between Klein and me.

"Yo Liz, you gotta listen to this! Dale's actually donating his snack money!"

"Wow! Dale, are you sure you aren't sick or something?" Liz asked playfully.

"C'mon girl, don't do me like that!" Dale whined.

Liz and I spent the rest of the evening with Klein's party making merry until everyone was too exhausted to continue. After what was a long day, the six adults finally returned to their inn for a good night's rest. Liz needed to speak with me about something and invited me to her room.

No, it wasn't pillow talk – get your mind out the gutter.

* * *

 **A/N: Who knew that visa applications could be so friggin annoying!? Thankfully that's been dealt with, but there's not much left of my summer vacation... *sobs***

 **No new characters this time, but quite a few first meetings. This chapter was a bitch to write, partly because of real-world issues and partly because of the difficulty in thinking up the interactions between LOL and people like Kibaou and Agil.**

 **Two more chapters and we'll be done with Arc 1!**

* * *

Omake: Festivals, toys and orphanages

After the rather emotional exchange in which a certain blue-haired raid leader's mistakes were brought to light, Diavel gathered himself and left to meet up with his companions.

"Oh yeah, apparently there's gonna be a celebration tonight for beating Illfang. Are you guys interested?" Lisbeth asked.

"Yup, I'm down for that," LOL answered. "Argo, Claws, you two going?"

"Sorry kids, but I can't, gotta do some recon before the other players start explorin' Floor 2," the informant replied. "Claws will be accompanyin' me so he also won't be attendin'."

"Oh, need an extra pair of hands?"

"Thanks for offerin' Liz, but we'll be fine. Ya two deserve a break so just kick back 'n relax. We'll see ya tomorrow."

* * *

"Well, we've got the whole evening to enjoy ourselves. What do you want to do now?" LOL asked Lisbeth.

"Actually, there's someone who I'm a little worried about. Do you mind if I pay her a visit? We can meet up later."

"Sure, that'll give me time to take care of some business. Come find me when you're done." With that the two friends parted ways and Lisbeth made her way to the temporary lodgings of a certain female fencer.

Lisbeth first met Asuna on the morning of the boss raid, courtesy of Kirito. Both females belonged to the swordsman's party for the boss raid so it was given that they would meet each other prior to the big fight. Asuna was startled when Lisbeth referred to her by name, but quickly learned that players who were in the same party could, in fact, see the HP bars and names of their fellow party members on the top left side of the screen.

Asuna was the beautiful, talented scion of a tremendously wealthy family; it was no surprise that someone like her would be extremely popular at school. She was treated with much reverence and admiration everywhere she went. However, Asuna was an exceptionally perceptive person who was adept at detecting the dark emotions hidden beneath the well-crafted personas of those around her. Despite the amicable, respectful words of her classmates, teachers and friends, she could sense the jealousy and contempt they harboured towards her. With the exception of her beloved maid, Sada, and brother Kouichirou, to Asuna everyone else felt fake and unpleasant. At the same time, her unreasonably strict mother did not make things any easier.

Lisbeth was different. Unlike the liars she was accustomed to dealing with every day, Asuna could detect nothing but genuine friendliness from the girl. There was a certain kind of ... warmth in her gaze. It didn't take long for the fencer to warm up to the brown-haired swordswoman.

"Hey Asuna, open up! It's me, Lisbeth!" The brown-haired girl declared as she knocked. A moment later the door was ajar, and a head poked out from the room.

"How did you know where to find me?" Asuna asked in a perplexed voice.

"It's called black magic... just kidding! There's a function that allows you to track down people on your friend list, which is how I found you," Lisbeth explained. She knew that Asuna only had one person registered on her friends list – Lisbeth had sent said girl a friend request after Illfang was defeated – so she wasn't surprised to see her unfamiliar with the friend tracking system.

"So you're the only one who knows where I'm staying?"

"Yeah, I'd say I'm the only one."

"I see. Well, come on in." A quick glance showed that Asuna's room was no different from the one Argo and Lisbeth shared.

"What brings you here?" The chestnut-haired beauty questioned, curious about the unexpected visit.

"I came to see how you're doing. Asuna, are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine? Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Well... your partner was forced to leave, after all."

"Oh..."

* * *

" _Take it from me: if someone you trust invites you to a guild... don't turn them down. There's an absolute limit to what you can accomplish solo._

 _So long, Asuna. I'm moving on."_

* * *

"... There's no helping it. No point dwelling on things out of our control." Despite her words, there was no mistaking Asuna's gloomy expression. It was clear to Lisbeth that her friend was anything but satisfied with the treatment Kirito received.

"Say Asuna, there's supposed to be a celebration in Urbus tonight. Why don't we go together and have a lil' bit of fun?" Lisbeth offered. The victims of SAO had made their first real step towards clearing the game, and they had done so without any casualties; joyous occasions like these were rare, and Lisbeth was unwilling to let her friend lock herself in a room and mope when they could be enjoying themselves.

"Might as well," Asuna said with a sigh, thinking that she could use the distraction. "Let's go."

* * *

"Liz, you suck."

"It's actually a lot harder than it looks, thank you very much!" Lisbeth drew her right hand back, a dart held between her index and middle fingers. In one swift motion she expertly hurled the small, sharp object.

It was a pity the projectile missed its mark.

The wooden dartboard was riddled with holes, but the bull's-eye right at the centre remained hole-less. Lisbeth sighed dejectedly. She wasn't allowed to use the blade throwing skill and hence she was struggling so much. If Argo or LOL were present, they would probably be mocking her for her umpteenth failure.

"Come on Liz, even a kid could hit the bull's-eye with fifteen darts."

Asuna certainly was doing a good job as their replacement.

"If it's that easy, let's see you give it a go!" Lisbeth challenged.

Confidently, Asuna paid the NPC stall owner and received five darts.

Thwack!

"..."

"I'm just getting warmed up."

Thwack! Thwack!

"..."

"Okay, I've got this, I'll hit bull's-eye soon."

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"..."

"I-I'll get it anytime now!"

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"..."

"Liz, shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"What you're thinking is written on your face!"

"Chill, Asu. You've got five more attempts to prove that your dart-throwing skills are better than some random kid's."

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Godammnit."

Thwack!

To add insult to injury, the NPC stall keeper ended up giving the girls the prize they would have received for hitting the bull's-eye out of pity.

* * *

"Why are you spending so much on toys and games? Surely it'd be more productive to save up money for better equipment," Asuna couldn't help but ask as Lisbeth found and bought yet another board game.

"Actually, these are gifts. I'm sure you know about the orphanage on Floor 1?"

"No, I don't."

"Oh. Well, the orphanage is run by this woman called Sasha who happens to be friends with Argo. Sasha gathered all the children who are trapped in SAO and brought them to the orphanage to look after them," Lisbeth explained. "So yeah, all these toys are presents for the kids."

"Wow, how thoughtful of you," Asuna remarked, impressed with her friend's kindness.

"Hey, why don't we go and pay the orphanage a visit now? I need to unload these gifts and free up my inventory space before heading out tomorrow."

"Sure, lead the way."

Lisbeth's gifts were very well-received, and Asuna turned out to be quite popular with the children, especially with the boys.


	7. Memento Mori

Ch.7 – Memento Mori

"Well this is unexpected. Were ya two waitin' for me?"

It was way past midnight when Argo returned from her scouting mission. By all accounts Liz and I should've been peacefully asleep so it came as a surprise to our mentor when she saw us sitting in her room with the lights on.

"I have something for you," I sent Argo a trade request as I spoke. "The cash is a token of appreciation from Klein's party for your daily efforts while the fingerless gloves are from yours truly. It's a pity you had to miss the festival so I thought I'd get you a gift."

"Wow, I'm gettin' tons of stuff and it ain't even Christmas yet! Thanks!" Argo exclaimed cheerfully. Useless items would simply cog up precious inventory space so I made sure to buy her equipment with better base stats than what she was currently wearing.

"How did recon go? Did you and Claws discover anything new?" Liz asked. She tossed a water skin at Argo who caught the container and emptied it with quick gulps.

"Aah, that hit the spot. There's been a few minor changes here and there but nothin' too drastic yet, though it looks like there are a couple thin's worth investigatin'; I'll have to look into 'em sooner rather than later. My clients' requests are pilin' up as well so I'm goin' to be really busy," Argo replied with a sigh. "So much to do, so little time."

"Umm… Argo?"

"Wassup, Liz? You can ask me anythin'."

"Please be honest with us. Are we a burden?"

"Huh? Why would ya even think that?" Argo looked at Liz confusingly, as if the latter had grown an extra pair of arms.

"I spoke with Kirito this morning before the boss raid. He mentioned that you were a solo player during the beta test. Despite being a capable fighter, you prioritized info gathering and used your high mobility to evade unnecessary battles; as a scout your play style was orthodox but extremely effective. However, now that us three are in the same party you've been forced to go at a much slower pace for our sakes."

"Liz is right," I interjected. "When we encountered the Kobold Scouts on the second day, you told us to fight because there was no way we could outrun them. Yet, after our many sparring sessions I've come to the realization that you were actually fully capable of escaping back then – if you were on your own, that is. You had no choice but to stand your ground because Liz and I were there."

"I love travelling with you, Argo. I've been really happy being in your party throughout the last month, but I don't want to be a burden. You're my savior and dear friend; I want to do all I can to support you," Liz said sincerely.

For a few seconds, Argo silently digested our words before she walked over to Liz and ruffled her hair.

"My silly, silly lil' disciples. Ah well, I guess I'm blessed to have such carin' comrades," Argo said fondly. She gazed at us tenderly before continuing. "I'm glad ya decided to share yer doubts with me instead of keepin' them to yerselves. Liz, L, I'll be honest: it's true that back then I could've escaped on my own. It's also true that I've been movin' slower than I usually do to match ya two. However, let me make this crystal clear: in no way, shape or form were any of ya a hindrance; callin' yerselves a burden could be no further from the truth.

Ya may not realize it, but durin' the first day I was actually really, really, really scared; I just did a good job hidin' my anxiety. Heh, despite bein' one of the best beta testers I was afraid of leavin' the Town of Beginnin's. I remember thinkin' that I would succumb to the pressure eventually, but I didn't… because I met ya two. As yer _sensei_ , I had to be strong. I forced myself to confront my fears and stay optimistic for yer sakes. Liz, L, I only managed to overcome my fears because ya were with me. I don't want to hear any of ya callin' yerselves a burden or a liability or anythin' like that, okay?"

… _I had no idea you felt that way, Argo. If my presence really helped to inspire such a change, then… I can truly say that I'm glad that I'm playing this game._

"I… Argo, I'm happy that we were able to help," Liz replied.

"Good to see that ya understand," Argo commented with a satisfied nod. "Now, lemme say somethin' else. Ya two ain't no burden, but it is true that I can't move as quickly as I normally do when I'm travellin' with others. As ya know, lately I've got a whole lotta stuff on my to-do list, so I'll be playin' solo for a bit; it'll take some time but I'll rejoin ya guys after reducin' my workload. Ya'll fine with that?"

"Yup."

"No objections here."

"Perfecto! I dunno 'bout ya two but it's been a stressful day. I'm goin' to bed so g'night."

"Sweet dreams, L, Argo."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite ladies!"

…

"Get yer ass back to yer room L."

"We're not even sharing a bed! Can't I take the sofa?"

"Nope, you ain't sleepin' in here."

"Hahaha, okay."

* * *

"Morning L, sleep well?"

"Well enough. What about you?"

"Pretty good," Liz answered. "Argo already left by the time I woke up. It's just you and me now."

"Just the two of us, huh? That sounds romantic." Liz rolled her eyes as I laughed. "Why, this looks like a date to me! So, what shall we do, 'love'?"

"Oh, I don't know. We could go to the cinema, go shopping, go to an amusement park, or we could try to complete all the quests in Urbus. Oh my, there are so many choices!"

"Quest-clearing it is then. The two of us are capable enough but we should try to get another teammate just to be safe," I suggested.

"Agreed. Fortunately, I happen to know someone who might be available."

"I'm guessing this potential party member is the girl you went to see yesterday?"

"Yup, you got it. Shall we pay her a visit?"

"Do you think she's awake yet?"

"She should be; we'll know when we get there. Oh yeah, isn't it proper etiquette for the guy to pay for the meal during a date?" Liz asked mischievously.

"Nah. Like the great Satou Kazuma, I yearn for true gender equality. Pay for your own food lady."

"You suck!" Liz exclaimed in mock frustration. "I'm breaking up with you."

"Whatever, you're ugly anyway," I replied with a shit-eating grin.

"Oh dear, it seems like there's something wrong with your eyes. Let me fix them… with my fists," Liz threateningly 'offered'.

"Nah, I'm good."

It only took us a couple of minutes to reach the place Liz's friend was staying at. The swordswoman didn't even bother using the map to find her way. We climbed up the narrow steps of a relatively large inn all the way to the fourth floor.

"Good morning Asu!" Liz greeted as she knocked.

 _W-w-wait, Asu!? Then Liz's friend is –_

The door opened to reveal a certain beautiful fencer.

"Good morning Liz, I thought you'd have left Urbus by now," Asuna replied cordially. She then made eye contact with me. "I remember you from the raid. Are you in the same party as Liz?"

"Yeah, my name's LOL, Liz and I have been teammates since day one. It's a pleasure to meet you, Asuna. You were amazing during the boss fight."

"Thank you, you did great too. Let's talk inside." Asuna moved aside and let us into her tidy room. Liz and I occupied the sofa while she sat on her bed. "So, what brings you two here?"

"We've come to ask you to join our party," Liz cut to the chase.

"Sure, that sounds good."

 _Just like that!?_

"That was a quick decision," I couldn't help but comment. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm happy that you're willing to join us, really."

"It's not as if I know anyone else," Asuna replied with a shrug. "Well then, I look forward to working with you two."

"Likewise, likewise."

"Welcome aboard, Asu."

 _Argo, Kirito, Agil, Diavel and now Asuna. I sure am lucky to be associated with all these powerful people._

* * *

"Hiyah!"

Yet another monster met its end at the hands of the goddess of war. Asuna's skill with a rapier really was a sight to behold.

"Take that!"

It was an unlucky day for the mobs around Urbus. Anything that spawned within our range of vision was swiftly dispatched by my two powerful companions. I gave up counting the number of monsters that died to those two.

"Liz, switch!"

"Hah!"

 _Rest in peace, Jagged Worm. These fair maidens blessed by Artemis (Goddess of the hunt) will probably eliminate the rest of your kind so you'll get to see them soon enough._

Prior to attempting the several quests available in Urbus, we decided to warm up by grinding in the area surrounding the safe zone. Liz was familiar with the way Asuna and I fought, but I had never teamed up with the fencer before so this was my first time witnessing her performance in the flesh.

Asuna's movements on the battlefield were graceful and incredibly quick. Her individual strikes weren't particularly strong but she more than compensated for her lack of raw power with speed and precision. Her agility and uncanny ability to target her opponents' weak points meant that she was frequently successful in landing multiple critical hits in quick succession; thus most of her battles tended to end quickly.

 _In comparison I'm rather inferior. Hahaha…_

Tracing her actions visually was tough enough, keeping up physically as a comrade even more so. Most people would find it difficult to cooperate with Asuna effectively due to her speedy play style; the average player would only slow her down. While Liz wasn't exactly among the rare minority that could match the fencer's quickness, she was competent enough to be an asset to Asuna in combat. Though those two hadn't been acquainted for long, their teamwork was quite decent.

 _Asuna's gotta be a beta tester – ain't no way a rookie can fight like that. I wonder if she and Kirito were acquaintances during the beta? That might explain why they teamed up for the boss fight yesterday._

I readied myself as a Ravenous Wolf spawned nearby; it only took it a second to notice and start running at me.

 _Going for the weakest link, huh? Well, those two are pretty horrifying so fair enough._

Although the creature's stats were higher in comparison to the Dire Wolves found on Floor 1, its attack patterns were more or less identical so fighting it wasn't too much of a challenge. I sidestepped its lunge and struck its body with my Anneal Blade. Screeching in pain, the Ravenous Wolf scratched at my leg with its claws, leaving three red lines on my thigh. I retaliated with Horizontal Arc, slashing from right to left and then from left to right in quick succession. Contrary to expectations, the monster survived the two-hit combo. With a surprised yelp I was tackled to the ground. Seeing its mouth open wide I raised my arm up in defence. Sharp fangs sank into my wrist.

 _Tsk! Stupid mutt!_

I smashed the wolf's exposed teeth with the hilt of my Anneal Blade, causing it to let go of me immediately. I quickly rolled to my side and slammed my blade into the wolf's neck, putting an end to its short, meaningless life.

*Clap* *Clap*

I lifted my head to see Asuna standing before me with her Wind Fleuret sheathed.

 _Chicks are prettier when they're smiling huh._

"That was some good practicality. I never would've thought of using the hilt in a fight," she said as she helped me to my feet. That girl had quite a bit of strength in those slender arms of hers.

"I can't claim credit for that move, Argo was the one who taught it to me," I confessed. "By the way, how did you and that whiskered midget get acquainted with each other? Did you two meet during the beta test?"

Asuna giggled upon hearing how I referred to my mentor.

"No, I wasn't a beta tester. I only happened to meet Argo a few days ago."

"Hold on, you're new to SAO!? Damn, I thought you were a tester because you're such a good fighter!"

"Oh, thank you." We watched as Liz easily hacked a Red Spotted Beetle into pieces. "What about you? How did you meet Argo, LOL?"

"I ran into her on the first day. We were both searching for allies in the Town of Beginnings when we bumped into each other; to be precise Argo found me first. Heh, that girl snuck up behind me, gave me quite the scare." I couldn't help but grin as I recalled our first meeting. "Later that day, we happened to see Liz all by her lonesome and asked her to join our party. The three of us have been together ever since then, though recently Argo's been busy with her info broker work so she's been operating –"

Another Red Spotted Beetle spawned close by. Asuna drew her rapier while I bent my knees in anticipation.

"– alone. Let's kill this thing." Although I said that, Asuna took care of the poor mob even before I could reach it.

Long story short, the rest of the day was a walk in the park. Being in the same party as Asuna and Liz meant that combat was a breeze, and none of the quests were particularly tricky. We progressed astoundingly quickly, blitzing through three different settlements before the end of the day. The three of us were bloody exhausted at that point though. Our benevolent Argo _sensei_ made sure to go at a pace that Liz and I were comfortable with, so Asuna's full throttle, minimum rest quest-clearing felt Spartan in comparison.

In the evening we got to know each other better. Liz and I told Asuna about the things we had gone through, and in return the fencer shared her experiences with us.

Unlike her brother, Asuna never got into gaming. Initially she didn't give a damn about the development and release of the NerveGear and SAO; however, after hearing her brother speak so passionately about the VRMMO that was "much more than just a game", Asuna couldn't help but desire to take a peek at the new, fantastical realm. On the day of SAO's release her brother was (depending on your perspective, fortunately or unfortunately) called to an overseas business trip and couldn't try out the game of his dreams. He decided to lend both his NerveGear and copy of the game to his dear sister so that she could experience that otherworldly land which fascinated him to no end.

Who knew such a simple act of brotherly love could result in such dire consequences? Asuna never held a grudge towards her brother; rather she was deeply concerned that he would blame himself for unintentionally trapping her in the death game. In Asuna's eyes, the only person who was at fault was Kayaba Akihiko.

"When I first came to this world, I was stunned beyond belief. I knew that everything was fake, that everything was nothing more than an illusion, but… I was moved. The fantastical _isekai_ (alternate/parallel world or dimension) I dreamt about when I was a kid had appeared before my very eyes. At the same time, I was really excited: it felt as if the heavy constraints of the real world had disappeared completely. Here, I was a free spirit, free to do as I pleased." Asuna smiled nostalgically. Although that memory was the prelude to a great tragedy, it was evident that the fleeting joy was unforgotten.

Like everyone else who heard Kayaba's speech Asuna was terrified and confused. She had no companions and, as a bona-fide rookie gamer she had no idea how RPGs worked so she didn't have an inkling of what to do. Fearful for her safety Asuna confined herself to an inn room, only leaving her shabby safe haven when she couldn't endure hunger any longer. Because she kept herself locked up all the time, Asuna wasn't aware of the strategy guide distribution and missed her chance to learn about the game mechanics.

It was only on the fifth day when she learned that her life was in no danger within the boundaries of the Town of Beginnings.

Asuna became desperate as the days passed by. Escape from the death game seemed more and more unlikely: contrary to expectations outside help was not coming, and the players who dared to leave the safe zone failed to make any significant progress. Additionally, in spite of her careful rationing there was almost nothing left of her meagre funds. One day, she heard rumours about a hidden log out spot in the forest west of the Town of Beginnings. Despite ambiguity relating to the info's validity Asuna who was at her wit's end decided to investigate the aforementioned location.

"I can't believe I fell for such an obvious trap back then!" Asuna lamented. Her voice was a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"It happens to the best of us, don't worry," Liz said trying to comfort the girl.

Evading all the mobs she came across, Asuna made it to her destination only to realize that the hidden log out spot was nothing more than a lie. Needless to say, the poor girl was absolutely devastated. When she returned to the Town of Beginnings she chanced upon one of Argo's guide books and finally began learning how to play the game.

Asuna had given up; she no longer cared about staying alive. Her new goal was to fight, fight and fight until she dropped. Literally. She began engaging the weak mobs near the Town of Beginnings, and when she had slaughtered everything in the vicinity she travelled to Tolbana Town via the teleport gate and continued her mass murder over there. She didn't know how many days she spent fighting non-stop but she ended up in the depths of the labyrinth when she finally reached her limit. Her life would have ended there if not for Argo and Kirito's timely intervention.

 _If I remember correctly, after the Field Boss raid on Floor 1, Argo left the party for a couple of days and Kirito was accompanying her then. I guess they ran into Asuna during that time – yes, that must've been what happened._

Instead of thanking her saviours Asuna ungratefully demanded that they left her alone. The fencer planned to keep fighting until the last moment so that she could die satisfied; saving her was tantamount to denying her (death) wish. The two beta testers did not react to her unreasonable words with hostility; instead, they told her about a certain meeting in Tolbana Town concerning the boss raid. The fencer ended up attending the raid party conference, and the rest was history.

 _Looks like she had it rough too. All I can say is that I'm glad Asuna didn't end up dying, enough lives have been lost already. If I had been alone like Asuna at the start, I wonder how differently things would turn out?_

"… Hey, do you guys think we're doing enough?" Liz suddenly asked.

"What do you mean, Liz?"

"There's no denying the contributions we make as members of the raid group, yet lately I can't help but feel like there's much more we can do," she replied with a frown.

"… I know how you feel," I said to the brown-haired swordswoman. "I've been asking myself everyday if levelling up for the boss raids is the only way I can contribute do but the answer's always 'I don't know'. It's so frustrating."

"There's no need to be impatient," Asuna told us. "For now, focus on doing what you can. I'm sure you will eventually be able to discover something that only the two of you can do if you continue to work hard and keep thinking things through."

… _Well, that's true._

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the encouragement, Asu."

* * *

"Argh, goddammit!"

I threw my Sharp Dagger at a Wind Wasp. The short knife found its mark in the mob's abdomen, killing it. I uncorked and consumed yet another Health Potion while walking over to pick up my weapon.

 _Blegh, awful as always._

Apparently a horde of Wind Wasps had been threatening the safety of the peaceful (NPC) folk of Albee Village so we were asked (bribed, if you consider the quest rewards) to deal with them. Really, the Wind Wasp Swarm quest was as straightforward as RPG missions could be.

The oversized insects we were tasked with eliminating were more annoying than dangerous: their attack power was mediocre, and it took no more than two Sword Skills to defeat them, but their stingers' stun effect could immobilise someone for up to three seconds, and their irritating buzzing was driving me insane. Normally I wouldn't have any trouble dealing with these fodder; however, I recalled just this morning that I had a new weapon gathering dust in my inventory and decided to try it out. Utterly unaccustomed to the recently purchased dagger's much shorter reach, I found myself struggling immensely against enemies which I considered as the weaker kind.

 _Blocking with a weapon so short is impossible – how the hell did Argo manage to deflect our swords with a Bronze Dagger so easily back then?_

Asuna ducked down as a Wind Wasp flew past overhead and destroyed it with a backhanded cut. She then rushed at two Wind Wasps, taking them out in the blink of an eye with a pair of Linear.

 _Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. She's the ultimate mix of grace and beauty._

A Wind Wasp dropped out of the sky with its stinger aimed at her but the fencer effortlessly sidestepped the attack before splitting the creature in two with a diagonal slash which I recognized as the Sword Skill Streak.

… _I can't help but think that she'd be the one wearing the pants in a relationship._

Having spent more than a day battling alongside Asuna allowed me to pick up on aspects of her play style which differentiated her from the beta testers. Most SAO veterans tailored their tactics according to the individual characteristics of their enemies; Argo and Kirito usually waited for their opponents to show an opening before going in for the kill. Asuna, on the other hand, had one universal strategy for every single foe she faced: no matter what manner of enemy appeared before her, the fencer would charge forward and obliterate the opposing mob using her great speed. In a sense she was a less efficient fighter compared to Argo and Kirito; however, considering she had gotten this far relying on nothing other than her inherent abilities, one cannot help but be impressed by the girl's latent talent.

"Daggers are pretty hard to use, aren't they," Liz said while walking towards me.

"I feel like I'm doing something wrong, it's as if I'm missing something. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out la – behind you!"

Liz whipped around and swatted a Wind Wasp away. The insect picked itself up from the ground and charged at Liz, but she was faster and struck first. It was wiped out of existence.

"Well played."

"Thanks for the warning."

We had actually completed the mission some time ago but stayed to grind so that Asuna could gather sufficient materials to upgrade her Wind Fleuret. Once the fencer was satisfied with the amount of drops she had acquired we returned to Albee Village before moving on to the next safe zone. I decided to switch back to my older weapons so as to not slow my party down. By the end of the day we reached a fairly large settlement known as Ivita Town.

"Welcome to our inn young travelers! Will you be staying for the night?" The amicable middle-aged innkeeper asked us.

"Yes, we would like three rooms please," I answered.

"Sure! The three at the end of the corridor on the second floor will be yours for the night, my boy."

"Thank you very much." We turned around and headed for the stairs.

"Wait a moment, lad," the innkeeper called out to me, causing us to stop in our tracks. "Beware of the mountains to the east. They say that a fearsome beast dwells there."

 _Hmm? There's no quest indicator. Let me try probing the NPC._

"Is that so? Can you tell me more?" I asked.

"According to the town guard, the creature's an especially gigantic, horrifying Wind Wasp which preys on anything it sees, cattle and humans alike. One person swore that the monster devoured its own kind!"

 _That's disgusting! Wait, still no quest indicator…_

"I see, so that's why the town's guardsmen look so tense. What if the three of us went out there and killed it? I'm sure that'll make everyone feel better."

"Are you crazy!? Don't throw away your lives for nothing!"

 _So he really isn't a quest-giver after all._

"That was… merely a joke. Well then, we'll be heading upstairs."

"What do you guys think?" Liz asked while we ascended the wooden steps to the second floor. "About the monster Wind Wasp, I mean."

"It's probably a Field Boss, or the target of a kill quest. I thought the innkeeper would ask us to take it out but I was wrong. Fortunately, Argo will be dropping by this village later to meet up with a client. She can tell us everything we need to know about the freaky Wind Wasp," I answered.

"Either way, it's something we'll fight soon, right?" Asuna asked.

"Not necessarily. There's always the possibility that it's an elite mob we're not meant to attempt until later on when we're high-levelled enough," Liz replied.

"Huh? Isn't that kinda unfair?"

"You don't game much so you wouldn't know about this, but it's actually not uncommon for different games to include some kind of enemy that's pretty much invincible at the beginning but beatable later on. Sometimes it's done for plot reasons, other times they're there as an optional challenge for the players when they've leveled up enough," I explained.

"I see, now I understand. Not taking into account the fact that SAO's a death game which uses VR technology, how different is it from other games?"

"Damn, that's a good question," I commented. "Argo's the person who you should be asking this, but I'd say that SAO is pretty similar to other MMOs in the sense that the game's main objective involves killing monsters to level up and improve your skill mastery, and then fighting bosses with other players upon becoming strong enough."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's an MMO?"

"Oh, I should have clarified that. MMO is short for MMORPG which stands for 'massively multiplayer online role-playing game'. By the way, SAO's a VRMMO – 'virtually real massively multiplayer online role-playing game'. Back on topic, there are two ways in which SAO is different from most MMOs. Firstly, unlike most MMORPGs, magic and long-range weapons like bows don't exist in this game; the creators – I guess – decided not to include ranged attacks because the whole threat of dying would be undermined if you can just nuke your enemies from afar.

Secondly, most RPGs have something called a Class or Job system, but SAO doesn't. I'll let Liz explain that since my throat is getting dry," I said while pulling a water skin out of my inventory.

"Huh? Oh, right. A character's Class, or job, determines their abilities. For example, a character of the 'gunslinger' class typically uses firearms and excels at ranged combat, while a character of the 'knight' class usually wears heavy armour and uses melee weapons, making them suited for hand-to-hand combat. Try guessing the characteristics of a character belonging to the 'magician' or 'wizard' class, Asu."

"Uh… that kind of character would use magic spells and stuff like that, right? As for their weapon, I guess they'd use something like a wand or a staff," Asuna replied.

"Bingo! You got it," I said with a finger snap. "Personally, I like the 'barbarian' class best."

"Is that because of their high attack power?" Liz asked.

"Nah, it's because the female barbarians are practically nude so they make for good eye-candy," I answered with a large grin. Liz smacked her head and groaned.

"N-nude!?" Asuna exclaimed, blushing furiously.

 _What a cute reaction! Pity I ain't got no camera on me._

"All the important bits are covered up, but everything else is pretty much skin. Imagine looking like that in a VRMMO like SAO! That's gotta be eye-catching."

"Not to mention mortifying," Asuna grimaced.

"I'm sure you'd be able to pull of that look Asuna, you do have a hot bod – haha, there's no need to look at me like that. I was just joking."

* * *

Chat history

LOL: Hey man, did you ever see that funny NPC in Urbus that hides from idiots?

Klein: ROFL, what? No, I didn't.

LOL: Can't say I'm surprised.

Klein: Why?

Klein: Screw you!

* * *

"Oh, that thin's a Field Boss known as the Mutant Wind Wasp," Argo told us. "Defeatin' it ain't mandatory but the EXP and drops would make it worth yer time."

"So it really was a Field Boss after all. I thought it might be a special mob that was some part of a quest."

"Nah, that's ain't the case cuz the townspeople don't think beatin' it is possible; in their eyes, asking someone to fight the boss would be equivalent to sendin' them to their death. They ain't goin' to make a request which they perceive as impossible, ya know."

"Fair enough."

 _Yikes, just how powerful is this thing?_

"How challenging is it?" Asuna asked.

"It can be fairly difficult to beat. It moves around quite a lot, and hits fast and hard; ya gotta be quick on yer feet. Fortunately, it only has two life bars and relatively shitty defence. Watch out fer the change in its attack patterns though, that'll happen when it loses one of its HP bars."

"What's the recommended number of players for this raid?"

"Eight to ten. Only three parties have beaten it so far so it shouldn't be too hard findin' players interested in joinin' you guys."

 _Not to mention that Asuna and I are among the more famous members of the raid group. To most people we'd make valuable allies._

"How long does it take for a Field Boss to respawn anyways?" I asked.

"It's different fer each boss but this one will respawn in exactly twenty-fer hours. Better assemble a team quickly or else ya guys are gonna have to wait if someone else kills the boss first."

"Hm… Klein and the others are too far away, but I know someone else who might be able to help us," I said as I manipulated my friends list. There were multiple ways to get to Taran, the settlement closest to the labyrinth, and Klein's merry band of bachelors had chosen a different path from my party. The three of us decided on the roundabout route: the longer road meant that we would be arriving Taran on a later date but the benefit of additional Exp and equipment due to the extra quests made the drawn-out trip worth it. Actually, we had been moving so quickly that we weren't far behind the other parties who chose to travel via the shorter, more direct routes.

"Asuna, Liz, would you two be fine with teaming up with Agil's party for the raid?"

"Why wouldn't we be? Agil's not only a competent fighter but also a relative easy person to work with. Moreover, that man is unlikely to have any... undesirables on his team. Isn't that right, Liz?"

"Yeah, exactly what she said. I must say though, I didn't know you guys were acquainted," Liz commented.

"We only got to know each other recently. Our first meeting was during the celebrations in Urbus," I answered while typing up a message.

* * *

Chat history

LOL: Hey Agil, would your party be interested in joining mine for a raid? There's this Field Boss near Ivita Town that we want to beat but we don't have enough numbers.

Agil: Give me some time to talk it over with my party.

LOL: Sure, take as long as you need.

Agil: My guys are happy to participate. We'll meet you in Ivita Town tomorrow afternoon, sound good?

LOL: Great! We might be out doing quests so PM me when you guys get here.

* * *

"Great news, Agil's party agreed to join us for the raid. They'll be here some time tomorrow afternoon."

"Looks like ya got everythin' sorted out. Good to know that I can focus on my work without havin' to worry," Argo remarked. "… Hey Asu, somethin' botherin' ya? Ya look kinda spaced out."

"Oh, it's nothing. I just can't help but notice that you-know-who hasn't been around the last few days. Where has he gotten himself off to?" Asuna had a forlorn gaze as she sipped on her tea.

 _Who's she talking abo – ah right, Kirito. He hasn't responded to any of my messages, and apparently he's cut off contact with Klein. I think I get what he's trying to do by distancing himself from us but really, it's all quite unnecessary._

"Wow Asu, you sound like a melancholic housewife waiting for her husband to return," Liz remarked oh-so-innocently. Some people just liked to see the world burn; apparently my dear friend was one of them.

"W-W-W-What are you saying, Liz!? I don't even think of him like that!" Asuna was blushing furiously. Liz wore a stoic expression though I could tell that she was barely resisting the urge to burst out laughing. Argo wore a predatory grin; it was as if mischievous little Miss Whiskers found her newest plaything. My expression was one of pure amusement.

 _Such a glorious reaction! Well played Liz, well played. Man, I need to get a camera or something like that soon._

"Okay, settle down guys. Teasin' aside, ya did look quite troubled, Asu. Yer worried about Kii-bou, aren't ya?" Argo's tone and expression made it clear that she wasn't poking fun at Asuna. Rather, the whiskered informant was attempting to help ease the fencer's unease by getting her to talk.

"… I know that Kirito's resourceful enough to survive on his own but he can't keep playing solo forever. No matter how capable a person is, there's an absolute limit to how much they can achieve alone. The enemies in SAO are getting progressively stronger; it won't be long before they become too much for him to deal with on his own. I… worry about his future," Asuna confessed.

 _That was an extremely thoughtful response. Can't say I disagree with her._

"To begin with, playing solo is quite… unsustainable, unless you're an expert at sneaking around like Argo," I commented. "The thing is, Kirito's the type to fight every single mob he encounters. As adept as he may be, I'm sure a large part of his success is due to his knowledge as a tester. If he were to run into some new monster that wasn't in the beta test, I don't know how well he can hold his own."

Noticing her friend's anxiety Liz gently placed a hand on Asuna's shoulder. The fencer didn't flinch away from her touch.

"Asu, let's assume we oh-so-coincidentally run into Kirito. Do you know what you want to do then?" Liz asked. Asuna opened her mouth but failed to formulate a response. "It's fine if you don't know now, but make sure you have an answer to that question the day you see him again. No matter what your decision is, as your friends we will support you, right L?"

"That's right. Asuna, there's no right way to live but it's important to live without regrets. There's no saying when we might bump into Kirito, especially considering how that little bastard's been trying to avoid everyone. It could be tomorrow, it could be during the Floor Boss raid. Either way, you'd better not let that meeting go to waste. After all, we're trapped in a world where nobody knows if tomorrow comes or not."

 _We can't tell her what to do, it's up to Asuna to figure it out herself. Heh, that's pretty much how life works, isn't it?_

"… Thanks. I think I needed that," Asuna replied appreciatively. "Worrying about someone without thinking of a solution to help them is rather pointless, isn't it? I'll definitely come up with something."

"Not gonna lie, I'm lookin' forward to yer next meetin' with Kii-bou," Argo remarked with a grin.

 _Me too, Argo. Me too._

* * *

"Asu! Switch!"

"On it!"

Liz jumped back as Asuna rushed forward and unleashed three quick stabs with her rapier, the impact of the consecutive blows causing the Trembling Ox to skid backwards. The beast snorted angrily and lowered its head, intent on mowing down the two females before it.

A pity that it failed to notice the knife-wielding teenager rapidly closing in from its blind spot. I stuck my Sharp Dagger into the large bull's side and twisted the weapon. It writhed in agony for a second or two before succumbing to its wounds.

"Four down, eleven more to go. We're doing great!" Liz remarked gleefully. The three of us were currently in the process of completing the Rampant Herd quest issued by one of the NPC guardsmen of Ivita Town. The quest was pretty straightforward: we had to defeat fifteen 'cow type' monsters in the area surrounding the safe zone.

"Your new fighting style is very effective," Asuna praised me. "You're pretty smart for coming up with something like this."

"Thanks! Though I feel bad making you and Liz do all the fighting."

"Don't worry, we can easily handle ourselves against these kinds of enemies. Besides, your consistent damage output is great help," Asuna replied with a smile.

Our new battle formation went like this: I would conceal myself behind a boulder or tree or something using the Hiding skill before Asuna and Liz engaged a mob, bidding my time until the opportunity for an ambush appeared. I wasn't always successful in striking my target's weak point but even so I was able to take out a considerable amount of HP.

Yesterday I was very unsatisfied with my inadequate attempts at wielding the Sharp Dagger and thus spent most of the evening studying Argo's strategy guide while contemplating how to effectively utilize my newest weapon; it didn't take me too long to conclude that I was an effing idiot for not realizing that daggers and swords were meant to be used differently.

A sword-user like Liz or Asuna could maintain a minimum distance between their adversaries and themselves by keeping the opponent at sword point. When done well, this granted the sword fighter (at least some degree of) control over their enemy's movements, allowing them to fight at their preferred pace.

On the other hand, anyone who used a dagger as their primary weapon was forced to play an aggressive, up-tempo style. Daggers were lighter, shorter and had lower durability so they were not as reliable defensively compared to one-handed swords like the Anneal Blade and Iron Scimitar I possessed. Thus, a dagger-user's best means of defence would be an unrelenting offense: staying up close and personal to the opponent while overwhelming them with swift, precise strikes so that they have no room for retaliation. Practically speaking, the enemy would more likely than not manage a counterstrike or two, so quick reactions were necessary for this fast-paced play style to work.

Unlike Argo and Kirito, my reactions were mediocre. At one point, I thought that daggers weren't a weapon suited for me but changed my mind upon discovering a vital piece of information. Daggers boasted one unique advantage over other weapon types: they dealt extra damage for critical hits. This made me become aware of the dagger's potential as an ambush weapon: taking into account the Sneak Attack Bonus and the dagger's critical hit damage bonus, I could wreck serious havoc – perhaps even one-shot some enemies – with a surprise attack on my opponent's weak point. The only problem would be creating a diversion for me to move around undetected.

I almost slapped myself for forgetting that I was in the same party as two incredibly talented players.

"And that's a wrap! Once again, mission accomplished! Good job everybody!" I cheered as the three of us exchanged high-fives. "Now we can return to Ivata Town and report to that guardsman."

"Hey, do you guys want to make a slight detour before we head back?"

"Do you have somewhere in mind, Liz?" Asuna questioned her friend.

"Let's go sneak a peek at the Field Boss. I'm not suggesting that we do anything stupid like fight it, but it can't hurt if we observe it from a safe distance, right?" Liz suggested.

"Hmm… we've got plenty of time to kill before Agil's party get here so why not? What do you think, Asuna?" I asked the fencer.

"No objections here. Seeing the boss in real life might make for good reference."

"Um, Asu? You do realise this is a virtual reality, don't you?"

"Oh, you know what I mean." We headed towards the location which the Field Boss spawned at, easily dispatching any mobs we came across. Neither of us intended to do anything more than a little harmless sightseeing; it would've been foolishly foolish to engage the Field Boss with only three people. None of us had a death wish.

And yet…

"AAAAHHHHH! NOOOOO!"

Unexpected circumstances always happen when you least expect them.

"HURRY!" Asuna yelled as she dashed towards the origin of the scream. Liz ran after her, and I struggled immensely just to keep up with the two girls. Upon reaching the Mutant Wind Wasp's lair, I witnessed a bloodcurdling scene which I still remember vividly: the monstrous Field Boss was hovering dangerously near a player who was lying on his back, all battered and bruised.

He was completely at the mercy of the unforgiving, emotionless creature.

"SAVE HIM! I'LL DISTRACT THE BOSS!" Asuna screamed as she charged at the murderous creature with no regard for her own safety.

"I'LL SUPPORT HER! GET HIM OUTTA THERE!"

"GOT IT!"

Asuna bounded for the Mutant Wind Wasp and unleashed multiple jabs on its abdomen. The boss growled in agony and diverted its attention towards its new adversary. She quickly led the vile monster away from the defeated player, lest he was caught up in the creature's wide-sweeping attacks.

"HAH!" Focusing entirely on Asuna, the boss failed to react to Liz's Horizontal Arc. Its HP had been diminished to begin with, and the two-hit combo further reduced it to around 48% of its original amount. However, even with this handicap the diabolical wasp was still too much for Liz and Asuna to deal with. Despite their abilities, those two stood little chance taking on a boss without adequate support. The girls were fully aware of the extent to which they were outclassed, yet unhesitatingly threw themselves at the powerful adversary just to buy me an extra second.

"HEY! WE NEED TO GO!" I yelled at the beaten, heavily injured teenager as I ran up to him. His short, spiky hair and eyes were dyed purple, though the latter was a lighter shade of the colour. He had light beige skin, but his knuckles had turned white because of how tightly he was gripping his long sword and shield. The fear-stricken expression made it clear that he had experienced some unimaginably grim event. I hoisted the teenager up by the arm and we ran, only for him to fall after taking two steps. His legs were shaking so much that he lost control over them. I had no choice but to slide my arms under the trembling teen's and literally drag him away from the battlefield. He was taller than average, yet had a skinny body and wore light armour so moving him wasn't too difficult.

"GO! WE'LL CATCH UP!" Asuna yelled, barely ducking beneath the frightening wasp's sharp stinger. Asuna and Liz were struggling to keep the deadly creature at bay; both had sustained considerable damage. In terms of speed, they were quick enough to keep up with the boss. However, the size of its gigantic stinger made it difficult to dodge its attacks. I bit my lip and focused at the task on hand. As much as I wanted to help my friends, they had entrusted the purple-haired teen's safety to me. I had to play my part, or their herculean efforts would have been for nothing. I continued yanking the adolescent until the Field Boss was out of sight. Having departed from the Mutant Wind Wasp's sphere of activity, I rested the shaken-up juvenile against a tree and pulled out a Health Potion.

"Drink up," I said as I fed him the bitter liquid. The potion flask vanished once the last drop of red liquid was exhausted.

"Hey, wh–"

"MOO…."

 _OH, FUCK NO! NOT NOW!_

While swiftly unsheathing my weapon, I whipped around to find that a Battering Bull had spawned nearby. The unwelcome mob was a muscular creature with an exceptionally large, thick skull. It had one simple yet powerful method of offense: running and smashing into its target with its powerful head. The Battering Bull's sole weakness were its four relatively thin legs (thankfully even monsters skipped leg day).

The creature lowered its head, intent on ramming us into oblivion. With the terrified, hapless teenager behind me evasion was not an option; I had no choice but to take the incoming attack head on.

 _No time to switch weapons… so be it!_

"COME ON!" I bellowed as I prepared to active the dagger skill Rapid Bite. My crouched down stance was like that of an athlete about to take off. The fingers on my left hand pushed against the rough soil while the Sharp Dagger, glowing white in my right, was held near my front knee.

Both man and beast leapt at the same time.

The fierce headbutt was met with a vicious slash.

I staggered backwards and slipped. My whole body felt numb from the collision, and my dagger was on the verge of breaking; a light tap would probably be sufficient to shatter the blade. A quick glance at the bar on the upper left of my screen revealed that I had lost some HP from the clash. Fortunately, I was successful in stopping the Battering Bull's charge. Taking advantage of the interval between the mob's attacks I switched the almost destroyed Sharp Dagger for the Anneal Blade in my inventory.

This time I stood my ground and waited for the mob to come to me. The moment it was within range I unleashed a Vertical, smashing my blade on my opponent's powerful head. The Battering Bull's superior strength pushed me backwards but I stayed on my feet. Once again, I halted the creature's mad rush. I had accumulated quite a bit of damage but that was of little concern to me, for the battle was over.

The post motion of my Sword Skill was significantly shorter than the time it took for the Battering Bull to launch a third assault. With my sword coated in a blue light, I slashed from top-left to bottom-middle, then quickly rotated my wrist and slashed diagonally again, this time from bottom-middle to top-right, the combined trajectory of the two hits forming a 'V'. The two powerful cuts of Vertical Arc caused the Battering Bull to collapse on its front legs, effectively crippling it; I mercilessly sliced its hind legs as well, fully incapacitating the beast before raining down blows on it. It died without putting up much resistance. Breathing heavily, I sheathed my sword and began walking over to the teenager lying against the tree. Exhausted by the battle my steps were sluggish and unsteady.

 _It's a good thing that Battering Bull was relatively low-levelled. That was a dangerous situation._

"L!"

 _Thank goodness, they're safe!_

I wore an expression of relief as I watched my teammates approach me slowly and wearily. The fencer must have seriously worn herself out trying to stall the Field Boss, for she seemed to be on the brink of collapsing from sheer exhaustion. Asuna's left arm was draped over Liz's shoulder while her partner's right arm was wrapped around her back so that Liz's hand firmly clutched her waist.

"You two… don't…. look so… good." I spoke with uneven breaths. I was panting so much that I couldn't manage to finish a simple sentence without interrupting myself.

"We could say the same for you," Asuna replied. "What happened? We saw your HP decrease so we were really worried."

"Battering Bull," I answered simply.

"Good job defeating it on your own," Liz praised. I gave her a thumbs-up and a victorious grin. "Let's take a few minutes to rest up first, we're too tired to head back now. Also, we should probably talk with him."

The purple-haired teen seemed to have calmed down a bit; his grip on the long sword and shield had loosened, and he was no longer hyperventilating. I approached him and knelt down on one knee so that we were on eye level. With Liz's help Asuna sat beside me, and the third member of our party crouched down between the fencer and I.

"Hey there, what's your name?" I asked.

"I-it's Dai – I mean, it's Dillon," he answered. His voice was noticeably weak.

"Alright Dillon, my name's LOL. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to but can you tell us what happened? Why were you fighting that Field Boss on your own?"

"… At first there were eight other players with me. The boss killed them all." Dillon's nails dug into his arm painfully. Liz gasped. I bit my lip. Asuna gritted her teeth. There was no way we could fathom the dread he felt but the mere imagination of watching eight people being cut down one after another was utterly sickening.

"My condolences." There was nothing else I could say to the victim of the cruel Field Boss.

"Won't you return to Ivita Town with us, Dillon? It's dangerous out here," Liz offered. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe."

"…Yes, let's go. Thank you for saving me," Dillon replied, teary-eyed. Although he spoke softly the emotion behind his words could be easily felt.

"LOL, look after Dillon. Liz and I will act as vanguard," Asuna said as she rose.

"Roger that. Come on Dillon, I'll lend you a hand." The combination of physical stress and emotional turmoil weakened Dillon so much that he couldn't move freely without help. Acting as a human crutch, I supported the young boy step by step towards the safe zone while keeping a hand on my Anneal Blade. I ended up not needing to use it; despite their exhaustion Asuna and Liz prevented any mobs from reaching Dillon and me.

Later, Dillon gave us a more detailed account of the failed boss raid. His party of four had allied with a group of five to take on the Mutant Wind Wasp. It was a challenging foe but the team of nine held their own. However, things quickly went downhill when the boss entered its second phase. One of the raid members – a spear-user belonging to the other party – made a wrong move and was bitten to death.

All hell broke loose. The dead player's four friends were completely consumed by rage and grief. They savagely assaulted the Mutant Wind Wasp, hell-bent on revenge. Rational thought and strategy were thrown out of the window. Dillon was too stunned by the spear-wielder's death to react; he watched as they were slaughtered for their mindless actions.

One of Dillon's teammates, an axe-user, tried to assist the four players of the other party. He was eliminated along with them.

The leader of Dillon's party charged at the boss, attempting to buy time for the remaining members of his team to escape. He put up a good fight but was taken out.

Dillon and a woman equipped with a knife were the only ones left. The latter was intimately acquainted with the brave, sacrificial leader for they had been lovers in the real world. She was reluctant to abandon her significant other; Dillon's urging failed to move her, yet he was unable to leave her to die so he resorted to more physical means. His panicked attempts to drag her to safety were impeded by her frantic resistance.

Upon seeing the death of her beloved, the woman let out an anguished cry. To Dillon's horror she stabbed herself in the throat. She disintegrated into tiny pieces before he could disarm her, dying in the purple-haired teen's hands.

Dillon's mental faculties shut down temporarily. He was so shocked that he forgot about running away. He was struck to the ground by the boss and could do naught but desperately scream and helplessly watch as the boss moved to execute him.

He was saved when a shooting star crashed into the Mutant Wind Wasp.

Anyways, we returned to Ivita Town safely and brought the teen back to room he rented.

"Do you want some time to yourself, or would you prefer company?" Liz gently asked him.

"… If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a bit."

"Sure. Just let us know if you need us, okay?" She sent him a friend request, Asuna and I did the same. With three clicks we were all registered to Dillon's friends list. Wordlessly, we exited Dillon's room to allow him some much needed solitude.

"I don't know what we should do about Dillon," I confessed with a sigh. "Any thoughts?"

"I propose giving him a day or two to rest and recuperate. We can take him along with us if he's recovered sufficiently by that time; however, if he's too traumatized to fight then it would make more sense to escort him to a safe zone with a teleport gate. That way he can return to Floor 1 and seek help from the mutual aid organisations in the Town of Beginnings," Asuna suggested.

"That's better than anything I can think of. What do you think, Liz?"

"I agree with what Asu said. The nearest teleport gate should be the one in the Deserted Town of Ashes, though it'll take us at least a day to get there."

The safe zone Liz referred to was one that left a strong impression on me. Apparently it used to be a thriving settlement full of people and life, but a great fire changed everything. Attempts to pacify the raging inferno were futile so the town's many residents fled through the teleport gate. Aside from the indestructible, magical fire exit everything else was reduced to nothingness. When the flames disappeared after four days, nothing was left of settlement. The burnt down town was deemed destroyed beyond repair; with a heavy heart many families began new lives in new areas.

However, three particularly sentimental households refused to leave the land they called home. They swore that, by their hands, their town would rise from the ashes and return to its former glory. Thus they began a long process of rebuilding. Their actions attracted some sympathizers, and soldiers were sent from nearby settlements to defend the vulnerable rebuilders from monsters. Though much of the town was still covered in ash, its loyal inhabitants had constructed facilities such as a smithy and inns for adventurers who passed by. The quests in that settlement involved gathering materials to aid the rebuilding or helping the guards repel dangerous creatures.

"I guess that's sorted then. By the way, are you guys still up for the boss raid with Agil's party later?" I questioned.

"Yeah, of course."

"Definitely. We'll be ready to go when Agil's party get here."

"Good, then I'll see you two in a bit. I'm going to rest up; I would recommend doing the same."

True to his word, Agil's group arrived at Ivita Town in the afternoon. Our behavior was courteous but the axe-wielder could tell that we were upset about something. He secretly pulled me aside and asked if everything was okay; I didn't want to lower morale by mentioning what happened to Dillon so I told Agil that I would speak about the details later. I also assured him that my party would be focused on fighting the boss and would not be a liability.

As expected, the Mutant Wind Wasp had recovered the HP it had lost in the morning. Asuna and Liz fought as if they were possessed; I was worried that their emotions would result in them messing up the battle plan but thankfully that didn't happen. Agil did not share the girls' intensity but his strikes were still vicious as ever. The boss's second phase caused some issues but in the end the Mutant Wind Wasp fell to our relentless assaults. Despite successfully eliminating nine players earlier today, this time the creature failed to take a single person with it to the grave.

Agil and his party members gleefully celebrated the quick, flawless victory. In stark contrast, neither Liz, Asuna nor I could find it in ourselves to feel any joy despite the successful raid. The Field Boss would respawn in the very location of its defeat, good as new, twenty-four hours later but the players who were killed were gone forever. In the end, nothing had changed. It felt like we had done much but did not accomplish a single thing. The hollowness of the victory left a bitter taste in our mouths.

Today's events were a reminder of how cruel this world was, and how weak we were.

* * *

To be honest I wasn't expecting Dillon to get over his mental anguish in two days' time. My sister and I had experienced severe trauma as children, and it took us a lot of time to come to terms with what happened. Nevertheless, I agreed to Asuna's proposal because I wanted Dillon to rest sufficiently before moving him to another safe zone.

The young teen had clearly recovered somewhat over the last two days: he was receptive to humour and displayed a larger range of emotions, but he still wasn't ready to step onto the battlefield. Whenever he equipped his sword and shield, the poor guy would start hyperventilating and mumbling incoherent words. His arms and legs shook uncontrollably, and his face turned pale. Bringing him along would make things more dangerous for everyone; the only solution was to escort him to the Deserted Town of Ashes, and so we escorted him to said safe zone. Dillon's would freak out and his body became weak every time he saw a monster so we had to take frequent rests; it took us the better part of two days to reach our destination.

"Thanks for bringing me here. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," Dillon said apologetically.

"Don't sweat it, man. More importantly, what do you plan to do from now on?" I asked.

"I've got enough Col to last me for a while. I suppose I'll do as you suggested and get help from the mutual aid organisations of Floor 1 when I run out of money," he answered. "In the meantime, I'll try to come up with some way to help everyone out. There's gotta be something non-combatants like I can do."

"That's the spirit. If you need anything, send us a PM," Liz said. "Remember, no matter what, never give up."

Farewells were exchanged, and my three-man party fought our way towards Taran. We arrived at the large settlement in approximately a week's time. The second floor labyrinth was well within reach; however, before we could start exploring the dangerous dungeon we had to defeat the Field Boss guarding the entrance first. Our adversary was a cattle monster called the Bullbous Bow. It had four horns, dark brown skin and was extremely large; we looked like ants compared to the boss. Diavel, who was also in Taran organised a raid to take it out, and I was invited. When my party showed up the other players was stunned; they had not been expecting the renowned fencer to grace them with her presence. Aside from Diavel's group which included Kibaou and Lind – those two acted amicably towards me – Agil's crew and a party of five known as the Legend Braves were present.

The Legend Braves were a rather… high-profile bunch. Their high-grade, flashy equipment was very eye-catching, and their eccentric behavior turned heads. To put it simply, these guys were roleplaying as medieval heroes. Honestly, they acted more like NPCs than human beings.

 _Seriously, who the hell uses 'thou'!? This ain't Shin Megami Tensei! Man, these guys are like a bunch of Chuunibyou hypebeasts! Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be to judgemental. The outlandish act may be their way of coping with the stress of the death game._

There was also a non-combatant who accompanied us. He was an awkward man called Nezha, and was the first and (as of this time) only player blacksmith in SAO. It seemed that he was a man of considerable skill as various players were praising and thanking him for his services.

Long story short, the Bullbous Bow stood no chance. How could it hope to prevail against a group consisting of people like Diavel, Agil, Asuna, Liz and me?

Nah, I was a non-factor. Hahaha…

It was a rather easy victory for the human team. We lost nobody in the process, and the L.A. ended up in Asuna's hands. However, for some reason she seemed to be… unsatisfied?

"What's wrong, Asu? You don't look too happy," Liz asked.

"During the boss fight I felt like I was being watched. It was really distracting," Asuna answered with a displeased frown.

"Stalker issues, eh? That's the price of fame and beauty," I commented with a shrug. "Hmm, I'm a pretty well-known player so I might have my personal stalker soon."

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. After all, you're lacking in the physical appearance department." Asuna smirked evilly.

 _Yeesh, her tongue is as sharp as her rapier._

"Here's some cold water for that burn," Liz laughed uncontrollably as she handed me a water skin. I was tempted to dump its content all over the brown-haired girl. Suddenly, Asuna stomped over to a nearby bush and stuck her hand into it.

"Wait, how!?"

"Found a peeping tom," Asuna declared. Everyone was dumbfounded as she literally dragged a certain notorious swordsman out of hiding.

"What is hell is he doing here!?" I whispered to Liz.

"Dunno, maybe he came to watch because he was worried?" My friend whispered back.

Kibaou, Lind and a few others were glaring at Kirito; evidently animosity towards the beta tester was still strong. Noticing the hateful looks on his teammates' faces, Diavel quickly clapped his hands to gain their attention and proceeded to lead them back to Taran. The other players began leaving as well so that Kirito, Liz, Asuna and I were the only ones left.

"Er…"

"You don't have to say anything. If I didn't want people to think you were with me, I wouldn't have dragged you out in the first place," Asuna said curtly. "So? Where have you been all this time?"

"It's a long story," Kirito answered with a nervous laugh.

"That's fine. We'll be travelling together from now on so there'll be plenty of time for you tell me," Asuna remarked with a smug smile.

"Huh!?"

"What, is being in the same party with me so unpleasant?" Asuna spoke in (mock) annoyance.

"No, but..."

"Come on Kirito, just stop talking and party with her," Liz said to the hesitant teen. "You have no idea how worried Asu was abo – mmph!"

"Shut up, Liz!" Asuna was blushing as she sealed her friend's mouth shut with her hand.

"Dude, I'm jealous. I wish I also had a hot chick chasing aft –" A murderous glare caused me to abruptly stop talking. Kirito chuckled at our antics.

"Alright, alright. I doubt I can talk my way out of this, so… I'll be in your care, Asuna."

"Perfect, that's settled then. Liz, L, I had a great time travelling with you two. Thank you for everything." Asuna's smile was… radiant.

 _Ah, finally a nickname._

"We had fun too. You're welcome to party with us anytime!" Liz replied.

"Uh, taking into account what L said to Kibaou and Lind in Urbus, it might be better if we aren't seen together," Kirito suggested.

"Oh, that. You know I was lying through my teeth, right?"

"Of course. Thanks for sticking up for me."

"That's what friends are for. Oh yeah, reply to Klein's messages, will you? I understand why you've been trying to isolate yourself, but I'm sure Klein and the guys would happily put up with the other players' disdain if it meant keeping in contact with you." Kirito nodded quietly.

"L and I will be going to Marome for the blacksmith quest, we'll be back in Taran by tomorrow," Liz said. Marome was a poor little village less than a day away from Taran. "I'm sure you two will be fine, but take care exploring the labyrinth, okay?"

"We'll be careful, don't worry. See you guys around, then."

"Bye for now!"

"Later, Liz, L."

"Stay safe!"

In the end, Asuna chose to stick with Kirito through thick and thin. In the future, she would look back and label this decision as one of the best she ever made.

* * *

"Oi! Ugly mofo over there!" I couldn't help but grin when I heard the all too familiar voice.

"Issin my man! What're you doing here all alone? Where the gang at?" I asked as we fist-bumped each other. Liz and I completed our business in Marome and had returned to Taran. Said girl was enthusiastically playing with her newly acquired Smithing Kit in her room.

"They're waiting at the inn. I lost in rock-paper-scissors so they sent me to buy drinks, and by 'drinks', I'm talking about that beauuuuuuuuutiful Taran Ale!"

"Ha! I know how this will play out. H1's going to get smashed, Dynamm will be perfectly fine, and everyone else will probably wake up with a hangover tomorrow."

"Maybe, maybe not. You wanna come crack a cold one with the boys?"

"I'm under-aged, remember? Plus, I'm supposed to see someone soon. You guys have fun."

"Oh we will for sure! I'm going that way, see ya!"

"Bye!" I continued down the street I had been walking on for a minute or so before turning into a dim back alley.

"You know, if I'm going to have a rendezvous with somebody, I'd much prefer my partner being a smokin' hot babe, but _que sera sera_ (i.e. it is what it is) right?"

"That makes two of us," Diavel replied. "We're just waiting for one more."

"Wait no longer." Startled, the raid party leader whipped around to see a certain whiskered midget behind him.

"… I'd hate to play hide-and-seek with you, Argo," he commented.

"Playin' stealthy is healthy. Wassup Diavel? It's rare for ya to contact me."

"I'm sure you two know Agil. Remember the weapon he's been using?"

"Heavy Battle Axe, two-handed, obtained as a rare drop from the Kobold Berserkers on Floor 1," Argo answered without missing a beat. "What about it?"

"Earlier today, Agil's weapon got destroyed while he was trying to upgrade it," Diavel solemnly reported.

"What!? That's not possible! The worst outcome of a failed upgrade would be a decrease in the equipment's enhancement level, but the equipment breakin' is unheard of!" Despite her surprise Argo managed to keep her voice down.

"I was there when it happened. I saw Agil's axe shatter into pieces with my own eyes," Diavel said. "It was... surprising, to say the least."

"Maybe it's a new penalty that was added in during the official release of the game?" I suggested.

"Unlikely. Nothing like this happened during the entire month we spent trying to clear Floor 1, so why now? It just doesn't add up," Diavel replied.

"That's true. If it isn't a game mechanic, then why did Agil's weapon break? I doubt it's a bug or something like that," I asked.

"I suspect foul play. You see, the person who carried out the enhancement was Nezha, the player blacksmith. Just yesterday, one of Lind's acquaintances, a man called Shivata, also had his weapon destroyed during a failed upgrade by Nezha," Diavel recounted. "There's no such thing as an equipment destruction penalty, yet two different players lost their weapons during an enhancement. It can't be a coincidence."

"Oh, his Stout Brand broke? So that's why he's been usin' a Sturdy Longsword."

"You really do know about everything that's happening. As usual, your information network is amazing," I couldn't help but say. Argo flashed me a smug smile.

"Recently, a few others have downgraded their equipment as well. There's a good chance that Nezha was involved; I'll get someone look into it ASAP," Argo said as she typed up a message. "Anyway, good job notifyin' us 'bout this shady business, Diavel."

"Thanks, Argo. It'll be difficult for me to investigate without attracting attention so I'll leave this to you two."

"Don't worry, ya can count on us. I swear on my pride as an info broker that I'll uncover the truth." We parted ways, Diavel heading in one direction while Argo and I went the opposite direction.

"Fishy, fishy stuff. What's the plan for now?" I asked my mentor.

"I'm 99.9% convinced that Nezha's guilty, but we can't do anythin' to him without evidence," Argo commented. "Looks like I'll have to spy on hi– excuse me for a sec, new message."

 _Why would Nezha purposely destroy the other players' equipment? I can't imagine anyone willingly hindering our efforts to clear the game, unless they stand to gain something from doing so. Maybe someone's forcing his hand?_

"… Crap."

"What's wrong?"

"It's from Kii-bou. Asu's Wind Fleuret got destroyed, courtesy of Nezha. She's victim number eight."

I cursed inwardly. Yet another person had fallen prey to the devious blacksmith's schemes.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Special thanks to** _ **NetherOrbit**_ **for creating the character Dillon!**

 **Man, this was a tough chapter to write. I came up with new ideas every time I took a break so I kept adding and changing stuff.**

 **The Legend Braves and Nezha are characters from the SAO Progressive. Among those who made their debut, Dillon is the only OC.**

 **I changed some of the details relating to Asuna so as to get rid of any inconsistencies, not that those changes really make a difference.**

 **This story isn't just about the fun adventures of the protag and his friends. It's also a story about the tragedies that take place in the cruel world of SAO and how the various characters respond to their misfortunes. That's why I decided to give Dillon such sad circumstances.**

 **The title, 'memento mori' means 'remember your mortality'. Anyone who's played Persona 3 will know that.**

 **As usual, please remember to check out my profile page for updated information about the different OCs! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Omake: Sleepover

"I'm back Liz," Asuna said as she entered her friend's room. She kicked off her shoes and unceremoniously flopped onto Lisbeth's bed. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing much, I was just flipping through the guide book. Did you get your Wind Fleuret upgraded?"

"Yup, it has a +3 enhancement right now. I'm sure I'll be able to upgrade it once more before the Floor Boss raid," the fencer answered while stretching her tired limbs.

"Nice! That'll be a big help for the fight against the Mutant Wind Wasp tomorrow," Lisbeth commented as she returned the strategy guide to her inventory. "I'm going to have an early night. You should go back to your room and rest up for the Field Boss raid."

"Nah, I'm comfortable here~" Asuna replied in an uncharacteristically childish manner. The fencer was so comfortable around Lisbeth that she would break character whenever those two were the only ones around.

Liz noted that Asuna did look blissfully content at the moment.

"Carry me to my room, Liz. Carry me like a princess."

"No way, you lazy baby. You're too heavy."

"Hey! Are you calling me fat? I have a pretty slim figure, you know!" Asuna said with a pout.

"That's because all your nutrients go to those two stupid, big lumps." That remark caused Asuna to cover her chest in embarrassment. "Come on, your room's not even that far – it's literally next door!"

"Don't wanna move, don't wanna move~"

"Geez, are you a child? Whatever, the bed's big enough for two people anyways. You seriously want to spend the night here?"

"I've never had a sleepover before, so why not?"

"Suit yourself then," Lisbeth said, switching off the lights. She changed into a nightgown and climbed into her bed. There was sufficient space for the two girls to rest comfortably.

"Hey Asu, there's something I want to tell you before you fall asleep. I think I've figured out what I can do to help the people around me aside from participating in the boss raids."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"I'm going to be a player blacksmith. At the end of the day, what keeps us alive is our equipment; I'm sure it'll be helpful if I can take care of everyone's equipment."

"It sounds like a great idea. Go for it, but make sure you don't fall behind on levelling and quest-clearing."

"True, that's sound advice."

"So, I've been thinking about what you told me earlier. I haven't made up my mind on what to do the next time I see Kirito, but I came up with a few ideas. Hypothetically speaking, if I were to leave you and LOL to party with him, would you two be alright?"

"That's certainly one way to ensure his safety. There's no need to worry L and me, we'll be alright. The people who hate Kirito may antagonize you for sticking with him, but you're not the type to care too much about what other people think anyways."

"You make it sound like I'm inconsiderate," Asuna said with a pout. The tone of her voice caused Lisbeth to chuckle. "Good night, Liz. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Asu."


	8. Liars, cheaters and murderers

Ch.8 – Liars, cheaters and murderers

Some asshole was messing with Asuna, and we weren't going to just ignore that.

I volunteered to keep an eye on Nezha, our prime suspect, while Argo went to speak with Kirito about the fencer's destroyed Wind Fleuret. My Hiding skill had become quite decent due to my new fighting style's heavy reliance on stealth; it would be difficult for someone to detect me without a good enough Searching skill. Finding Nezha was easy since the street merchant spent most of his time stuck to one place tending to (scamming) his customers. I chose a nearby alleyway as my stake-out point. Unfortunately, there weren't any cardboard boxes to hide under so I concealed myself behind a wooden barrel. Approaching the blacksmith without any evidence would serve no purpose but make him warier and harder to expose; all I could do was vigilantly watch for any suspicious behaviour.

Some blond-haired chick with a ponytail approached Nezha and exchanged a few words with the con artist before presenting him with an axe. A flash of bright light was emitted as upgrade materials were added to a furnace and liquefied within mere seconds; Nezha then inserted the girl's axe into the furnace until it started glowing. The shining weapon was placed onto an anvil, and I held my breath as the dubious blacksmith hammered away.

Contrary to expectations the enhancement was a success. With a smile Nezha returned the axe to his satisfied customer; there was no drama over destroyed weapons.

 _Hmm… so far nothing out of the ordinary._

A few other players came to him for upgrades. There was one occasion when the enhancement failed but even then the infamous equipment destruction I heard about didn't happen. I was pretty irritated because I couldn't find anything incriminating, though part of me felt glad that nobody suffered the same misfortune as Asuna. At the end of the day, none of us stood a chance outside the safe zone without our equipment. Moments later Nezha closed up shop, put away his tools, stood up and walked off. Ducking from corner to corner, I silently tailed the suspicious man while cautiously surveying my surroundings. It would be extremely troublesome if some random player were to intervene upon seeing my (without proper context) doubtful behaviour. After a minute of stalking, I was surprised to see the scammer approach four hooded figures.

 _Way to go, Nezha. There's nothing sketchier than meeting with people dressed up like typical anime vill –_

*GONG!*

 _#!^*$%_

 _Oh, that's the bell that sounds every hour. Stupid thing surprised me!_

Nezha spoke with the four unknown characters while scrolling through what I assumed was his inventory screen. Suddenly, he started panicking. It looked like he was frantically trying to explain himself to his… friends? Associates? Were they even acquainted? One of them raised a hand to stop the blacksmith from talking. He or she said something, Nezha replied with a quick nod and they parted ways. Nothing eventful happened afterwards. Nezha entered some cheap, shabby inn and that was the end of it.

* * *

"Who is it?"

"It's Joooohn Cena!"

"Come in already idiot," Argo said as she yanked the door open. Kirito was leaning back on a wooden chair so that it stood on its hind legs. Next to him was Asuna who sat cross-legged on her bed, wrapped in a blanket and hugging her Wind Fleuret...

Wait a minute.

"Lemme guess, someone used black magic to repair her sword?" I asked while pointing at the supposedly destroyed rapier that was held tightly in the fencer's hands.

"Nah, it's nothing like that," Kirito answered with a dismissive wave. "We realised that Asuna's Wind Fleuret actually wasn't destroyed; rather, it was stolen."

"… Sorry, I'm still confused," I confessed while sitting down opposite Kirito. Argo hopped onto Asuna's bed.

"There's one other way to destroy an equipment aside from reducing its durability to zero," Kirito explained. "You know how each piece of equipment has a limited number of upgrade attempts, right? If you upgrade an item which has already reached its maximum number of enhancement attempts, it will automatically be destroyed."

"Okay, go on…"

"Nezha switched Asuna's rapier with a fake one without us realising; he made us think that her Wind Fleuret was destroyed by breaking the 'spent' replica – that's the only possible explanation. He must've stolen the original when we were distracted by the bright light from the furnace."

 _Ooh, I get it now. It's an underhanded trick, but props to Nezha for being innovative. I doubt many people would be able to come up with a scheme like that._

"I'm impressed you guys figured out all of that so quickly. Good job, detective Kirito! I still don't understand how you guys took the sword back from Nezha though."

"Ya never heard 'bout the 'Materialise All Items' function, have ya?" Argo questioned.

"Nope."

"It ain't too well known so can't blame ya fer that. Anyways, it's a nifty method fer recoverin' lost stuff – why don't ya give it a try?" With Argo's instructions I navigated through a series of sub-menus until the mentioned option was available. With one click, everything I possessed – weapons, accessories, foodstuffs, clothes – appeared in a huge pile before me.

 _That's pretty cool and pretty useful. Cleaning up is going to be a pain in the ass though._

"Really, L? Pink boxers?"

"They're comfy, Argo. Don't judge."

"Thanks for the snack."

"Wha – hey man, put that down. That's my orange."

"Kirito, give me half."

"Et tu, Asuna? Whatever." I slowly picked up my belongings and returned them to my inventory one by one.

"By the way, Materialise All Items only works fer stuff dropped within an hour so keep that in mind. Sadly, this means that it's too late fer Nezha's other victims to retrieve their weapons," Argo said with a sigh.

"What a pity. Regardless, I'm glad you got your Wind Fleuret back, Asuna."

"Me too, L. Me too." Asuna looked very exhausted. During our time together I learned first-hand how much she valued her Wind Fleuret, which she affectionately referred to as her 'partner'. The apparent destruction of her beloved weapon must have stressed her out.

"Argo told us you were spying on Nezha earlier. Did you see anything?" Kirito asked me.

"Well, after he was done for the day Nezha met up with four people wearing cloaks. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were talking about but I remember Nezha checking what looked like his inventory screen and being flustered about something. Hmm… maybe he was surprised that he suddenly couldn't find Asuna's rapier? That'd make sense."

"... Four, huh? Assumin' they're Nezha's accomplices I think I might know who they are."

"What!?"

"No way!"

"Who!?"

Although Argo's answer was shocking none off us could deny that her reasoning was solid. As much as Kirito, Asuna and I wanted to confront the crooked merchant, my mentor insisted on ascertaining some information, as well as sharing intel with Diavel and Claws before taking action. Thus we decided to leave the matter in her capable hands – no, paws (she is an animal after all) – and focus on other matters until further notice. There wasn't anything else I could do at the moment so I returned to my inn.

"It's been more than an hour since I've left, yet I find you rooted to the same spot hammering away," I remarked upon entering Liz's room.

"Huh? Wow, you're right! It's gotten late. Time sure flies by when you're having fun."

"You haven't eaten yet, right? I bought you dinner."

"Thanks, you're the best!

The blacksmith wannabe was sitting on a cushion with a hammer in her right hand. An anvil and a portable furnace, both which looked identical to the ones Nezha used, were placed in front and next to her respectively. A pen, notebook and Argo's strategy guide were also within her reach. I looked at the fruits of Liz's labour while she ate. While none of her creations were particularly outstanding, they were noticeably better than some of the cheaper store-bought items. Given time, she'd surely be capable of producing equipment rivalling the very best NPC-crafted goods. She was close to using up the large quantity of upgrade materials she had gathered throughout the last two floors forging and enhancing a variety of weapons, armours and shields so I gave her some of mine.

"I'm selling all of this later. No point lugging around stuff I won't use," Liz said between bites.

"Fair enough. Hey, quick change of topic but there's something that's been going on recently which you should know about. You see…" In great detail I told Liz about everything that had transpired earlier. As expected she was angered by Nezha's trickery; I told her not to get too worked up over it since we already knew about his modus operandi and would be in position to expose his misdeeds whenever Argo was ready.

* * *

"Yo, there's a safe zone up ahead. Let's take a breather for now."

… _Finally! I've been needing a break._

"Elo, you alright? You look tired as hell."

"There was… much more… fighting than expected," I panted while unscrewing the cork off a Health Potion. The strong medical stench made me grimace; reluctantly I forced the red liquid down my throat. Despite consuming a number of Health Potions daily, I still couldn't get used to the foul taste and smell.

Liz and I were grinding in the labyrinth with Klein's party. Apparently Diavel's team, as well as a few others, were making amazing progress; it wouldn't be long before the boss room was discovered so we needed to prepare ourselves for the inevitable clash. Speaking of Klein, the bandana swordsman had improved significantly since I last teamed up him. He didn't exude the same kind of… composure as elite players like Asuna or Diavel, but he could convincingly handle the more challenging mobs with minimal support. It was an exaggeration to say he was head and shoulders above the rest, though I'm sure he could give most payers a run for their money.

"Surprised, aren't you? My man's been working really hard. He wakes up extra early every morning just to train," Dynamm told me when I mentioned Klein's quick growth.

"Huh, is that so? That's really admirable."

"Yeah, no one really knows when he started this routine but we only knew about it because Dale woke up hungry around six o'clock one morning and went out to grab a bite; imagine his surprise to see Klein swinging his sword, all drenched in sweat! The rest of us were motivated by Klein's efforts, so we've been getting up early to train as well. Gotta say, the days feel more meaningful when you're putting in work before the sun rises!"

 _Hmm… training in the early morning sounds like a better alternative to lying in my bed, struggling to sleep. I might as well take advantage of my insomnia to do something productive._

"Oh, I've got enough materials for an upgrade!" H1 exclaimed. "I'll enhance my spear in town later."

"Actually, I can do it for you now if you'd like," Liz offered.

"Wait, you're a blacksmith? Since when?" Kunimittz asked in surprise.

"Yesterday, actually. I can't guarantee that the strengthening will be a success, but I can give it a shot."

"Eh, might as well. I'm counting on you, Liz," H1 said as he handed her his weapon. She took out her blacksmithing tools and received the necessary upgrade materials from her very first client. All of us crowded around the craftswoman in anticipation.

"Hey, you guys are too close! Give me some space." We obediently and immediately moved backwards. With bated breath we impatiently awaited the results of her upgrade.

 **Enhancement successful! Congratulations!**

"Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah boi!"

"Woo hoo!"

"All hail queen Elizabeth – I mean Lisbeth!"

"You're the best, Liz! I'll buy you a drink later."

"Seriously dude, stop offering alcohol to minors."

"I'm just glad that my first job was a success. I was really nervous!" Liz said with a satisfied grin as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Guys, we've got company." Issin's words caused the merry cheering to die down. The eight of us watched as a group of players wearing flashy, powerful gear made their way towards the safe zone we were in.

"Greetings, my fellow warriors! Thou has displayed great valour reaching the murky depths of this accursed dungeon!"

… _When NPCs speak like that, it feels natural and interesting, but when players do, it's unbelievably cringe worthy. I enjoy stuff like acting and drama but it kinda pisses me off when it's done badly._

The enthusiastic yet eccentric person who spoke to us was a burly swordsman around Klein's age called Orlando. He was the leader of a five-man party known as the Legend Braves. Taking into account that each party member was named after a mythological hero, one could easily see why this name was chosen for their group. The Legend Braves had recently become one of the most powerful teams in the game largely due to their superior equipment. They could be rather annoying because of their… queer roleplaying tendencies but there was no denying their skill. I saw them in action during the Bullbous Bow (Field Boss) raid two days ago and was greatly impressed by their skill.

"Oh, if it isn't LOL, the hero who saved our great leader Diavel from oblivion during the holy conquest of the first floor! It is a great pleasure to see you once again."

It was no surprise that my suicidal attempt left an impression on the leader of these hero-worshippers.

"Wow Elo, didn't know you're a hero! What's the name of your quirk? Hey, can I have an autograph?" Klein jibed.

"I'll give you my signature later if you really want it. It'll probably the most valuable thing you ever own," I answered with a grin before facing Orlando. "I'm glad to see all of you doing well. Did you guys manage to locate the boss room?"

"Unfortunately we have yet to reach our destination, but I believe it will not be long before the forces of mankind discover the foul guardian's hidden lair!"

"Hopefully you're right. Well then, we'll be going ahead so see you guys around."

"Fare thee well, valiant souls!"

* * *

Message Log

 **You have one new message**

 _From: Argo_

 _Text: Preps to xpose Nezha r complete. Meet me ASAP. We move tnite_

* * *

… _Found him_ _. Lights, cameras, action!_

"Hey, Orlando!"

"Ah, the lionhearted LOL! We meet yet again!" The energetic leader of the Legend Braves was heartily drinking and chatting with his equally energetic party members at a tavern. "Have you come to make merry? Drink up I say, drink up!"

"Actually, I'm here as Diavel's messenger. He's holding some kind of meeting and would like you to attend. The guy was very specific about this being a leaders-only event so the rest of your party will have to sit this one out."

"Is that so! Then I must depart immediately. I shall reconvene with thou later, my brothers!" Orlando said to his teammates. He exchanged affable words with me while I led him to the raid party leader's room.

… _Here we are. Now then, time for phase 2. I've done my part so it's all up to them now._

"Good evening, supreme leader Diavel! I see that you have graced us with your presence as well, peerless axe-wielder Agil." The latter responded with a curt greeting and a nod at Orlando's direction.

"Thank you for coming, Orlando," Diavel said as he shook hands with him. "Please, take a seat. There is something of paramount importance which I would like to discuss."

I leaned against the door and watched the three men sit down. A large wooden desk separated Orlando from Diavel and Agil; the way they were positioned made it look as if the latter two were conducting some kind of wacky job interview.

"It must be a grave issue indeed for you to host such a sudden conference. What is the topic of discussion?"

"Actually, it concerns your party. Recently I've heard that a member of the Legend Braves has been going around stealing other people's items. What do you have to say about that?"

"What!? That's preposterous! The five of us would never do such a thing!" Orlando yelled in fury. Diavel was not at all unnerved by the man's outburst; his mouth morphed into a wicked grin, and there was a malicious glint in his eyes. Agil's deep laughter was both unexpected and frightening.

 _Those two look like gang members. Why does it feel like they're the bad guys and Orlando's the victim?_

"That's cold, Orlando. How could you ignore Nezha's existence after all he did for your party?" Agil questioned derisively. Orlando was definitely taken aback by Agil's words, though to his credit he quickly regained his composure.

"Let's try this one more time. Orlando, one of your party members has been swindling other players of their items. Do you know anything about that?" Diavel asked again. Orlando took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Yes, I do. The player blacksmith Nezha, who is a member of my party, has stolen some his customers' weapons. This was all to provide the rest of the Legend Braves funds to buy gear. We are aware of his actions and have been supporting him."

 _Giving up already? That was easy. Argo, Kirito and Asuna should be dealing with Nezha right now and I'm confident they can get the truth out of him so it wouldn't really matter if Orlando denied everything. Still, him being cooperative simplifies things. I'm not complaining at all._

"I confess that I wasn't expecting to gain your confession so quickly but I truly appreciate your honesty," Diavel commented.

"There's no point denying any further if you know this much," Orlando said, sighing defeatedly. He had completely dropped his usual theatrics. "How did you find out about everything?"

"One of Nezha's victims happened to figure out his trick and told us about it. We looked into his dealings and noticed that the scams began around the same time the Legend Braves rose to prominence. Also, the name 'Nezha' is based on a heroic Chinese deity, right? That kind of gave away his relation to your group."

 _I don't know whether to be afraid or impressed that Argo managed to compile all that information so quickly. It wouldn't surprise me if she turned out to be part of some intelligence agency._

"So that's why… truth to be told, I am quite glad that you caught us, Diavel. Cheating others never sat right with me." Orlando spoke in a regretful tone. His remorseful expression looked genuine but it was difficult to trust the man.

"The enhancement scam doesn't sound like something you'd come up with," Agil said. "Tell us the whole story, Orlando."

With a nod he told us everything we wanted to know. Like Klein and the guys, the six members of the Legend Braves were friends IRL who decided to challenge the virtual world together. After SAO was revealed to be a death game, they left the Town of Beginnings intending to help clear the game, but there was one huge obstacle.

Nezha was actually blind in one eye due to compatibility issues with his NerveGear; however, he couldn't logout quickly enough and was trapped in the death game as a disabled person who couldn't comprehend distances. In spite of his messed up depth perception, the rest of the Legend Braves refused to give up on him and prioritised helping out their handicapped friend. Sadly, their unpremeditated kindness only resulted in everyone being worse off. Despite all the time and effort they spent, it didn't change the fact that Nezha was never going to become an adequate enough combatant; he was destined to be a liability on the battlefield. By the time the Legend Braves reluctantly accepted this and gave up trying they were far, far behind the raid party members and could not participate in the Floor 1 boss raid.

Too powerful to be complacent with doing nothing, but too weak to actually do anything. The Legend Braves found themselves in an extremely uncomfortable situation.

That was when the man in the black poncho appeared. Orlando couldn't remember his face, and the mysterious stranger never disclosed his name. Whoever the man was, he was clearly intimate with how SAO worked. Without asking for anything in return, he taught the Legend Braves to use the blacksmith enhancement system to carry out the equipment-switching trick. Although Orlando was completely against the idea, his teammates didn't share his sentiments and carried out the scam behind his back; Nezha in particular chose to execute the foul scheme as he felt responsible for the group's troubles.

Orlando wasn't daft. He soon noticed that his friend was making way too much money from blacksmithing and confronted his party members. Ultimately, he was persuaded by their claim that the game's lack of rules against the scam meant that it was entirely permissible. So he allowed them to carry on. Thus, the Legend Braves continued to steal weapons and sell them to buy expensive, powerful gear.

*BANG!*

Agil savagely slammed his fist onto the table. This caused Orlando and I to flinch visibly, while Diavel looked at his partner with a raised brow.

"That's ridiculous. You don't need a damn game system to tell you that theft is wrong!" The large man was practically growling.

 _By definition, a crime refers to an action or omission which is illegal and hence punishable by law. Arguably SAO, or rather Aincrad is lawless so criminal acts don't exist. With that said, anyone with half a functioning moral compass will not take advantage of other people like that!_

"Deep down I knew that our actions were unjust. Yet, when I realised how we could achieve our dream of fighting on the front lines through Nezha's trick, I couldn't say anything. In the end, I was too weak. My conscience was blinded by my pursuit for glory."

 _A very human mistake indeed. Perhaps I should not be overly judgmental, for I am not insusceptible to such errors._

"Agil, Diavel, please tell me if there is a way we can repent for our sins."

"No, Orlando. This is YOUR mess. YOU should be telling us how you plan to clean up," Agil said, jabbing a finger at the guilt-ridden man.

"... At the very least, our victims deserve the truth. It is only right that the we admit to our wrongdoings before the whole raid party and apologise to the other players."

"That's a good start, but we won't be satisfied with just words. You'll need material reparations to make up for the equipment your party stole from us," the axe-wielder remarked.

"You're right. Then the only solution is for us to give up all of our equipment, items and Cor as compensation. Though that will not excuse us of our wrongdoings, it should help those who were involved in our scams."

"It's not perfect, but that'll do," Diavel said thoughtfully. "Now then, why don't we work out the exact amount owed by the Legend Braves, in terms of Cor? I'll need you to tell us the names of your victims, the items you stole from them, and for reference it'll be helpful if you could provide the exact date as well."

Including Agil and Asuna, a total of eight players fell prey to Nezha's tricks. According to Diavel each of these individuals were top-level players who could be considered as the cream of the crop; it made sense that the Legend Braves would target them as they were likelier to possess equipment that would fetch a good price.

"Orlando, in spite of everything you've done I can't help but admire your honesty. It takes guts to confess one's mistakes, and I'd like to reward you for it." The leader of the Legend Braves looked at Diavel curiously, not knowing at all whether to trust the latter's amicable smile. "I'll let you delay your confession until after the boss fight, but no later. In other words, the Legend Braves may participate in the upcoming Floor Boss raid. Will that be fine, Agil?"

"I don't mind as long as they 'fess up immediately afterwards."

"… Truly, thank you for your magnanimity," Orlando said with a grateful bow.

 _Why would he – oh, I see. Right now the Legend Braves are one of the most powerful parties in the raid team. If they were to disband before the boss fight, we'd lose quite a bit of firepower. Diavel wasn't being merciful postponing the Legend Braves' confession – he was being practical. Heh, I suppose that shrewdness is befitting of someone his position._

Soon afterwards Orlando left. The man probably wasn't aware that we recorded the entire conversation using one of Claws' expensive crystals, not that he needed to know. Later that evening Kirito, Asuna and Argo dropped by with a recorded confession out from Nezha. The blacksmith's testimony completely matched his leader's so there was no doubt that both of them had been telling the truth. Still, for safety's sake Argo secretly had someone keep tabs on the Legend Braves. For now, the whole weapon enhancing fiasco was dealt with – at least until the Floor Boss fight was over.

* * *

During the beta test, the Floor Boss of the second floor was an entity known as Baran the General Taurus. This muscular, crimson creature wielded a golden battle hammer and was supported by a mid-boss called Nato the Colonel Taurus which was essentially a smaller, palette swap version of the Floor Boss that was still a very challenging foe.

Just like last time, Diavel's party claimed the credit of discovering the boss room. The initial plan was to take on (and out) the bosses the very next day but Argo secretly asked the raid party leader to delay the battle until she finished investigating a particular lead. A lot of people were shocked and unhappy to hear that the boss fight would be postponed (Diavel was smart enough to not mention that this was because of Argo), though they all respected the blue-haired 'knight' so they didn't say much. Two days later, Argo returned with some vital information. It turned out that Baran wasn't actually the Floor Boss but just another (powerful) mook; the true enemy of Floor 2 was a hidden creature that never existed in the beta: Asterius the Taurus King, a gigantic humanoid monster with a bull's head and six horns.

"In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. Illfang was a 'lord', so why would this Floor Boss be demoted to a general?" Agil remarked. I felt like an idiot for not noticing something so obvious.

In an instant Argo became the most popular player in the game; after all, she potentially saved the lives of everyone on the raid team. Even people like Kibaou and Lind who despised her due to her obvious beta background had to acknowledge her massive contributions. Everyone was so focused on ploughing through the labyrinth to find the boss room that they neglected to search for clues about the Floor Boss in other areas, which was precisely what the informant did.

Argo was not the midget that we deserved, but the midget that we desperately needed.

Once again we stood before the eerily designed gates of the boss room. We had ten minutes to say our prayers (farewells?) and get ready for the next few hours of deadly combat. This time the raid party was split into three teams. Groups A and B were to focus on defeating Baran and Nato respectively. As for group C, its members were to remain on standby. The moment the third and final boss made its appearance would be their time to shine, for team C was tasked with stalling Asterius until the other groups took out the two mid-bosses and could provide assistance. The moment all three groups were united as one would be the time for our counterattack.

Liz and I joined our friends of Fuurinkazan – that was the name of Klein's party – for the boss raid. There was nothing more reassuring than fighting alongside people whom I trusted. I spotted Agil among the players of group A (which I belonged to) and made my way towards the large axe-wielder. The two-handed axe he had been using was stolen and sold off by Nezha so he had no choice but to settle for a weaker weapon.

"Yo, looks like we're in the same group. Stay safe out there, kid."

"Thanks. We're literally counting on you and the other tanks to take hits for the team."

"Heh, that's what I do best. By the way, your friend was great help."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That brown-haired girl, Lisbeth. She came to me one evening and offered to enhance my axe for free. She even chipped in her own upgrade materials."

 _Wow, I had no idea at all. I certainly didn't expect her to go and help Agil when I told her about Nezha's scams._

"She's a good kid. Watch over her for me, alright?"

"You know, she's the stronger fighter so usually I'm the one being protected. Good luck, Agil. I'll see you after the fight."

"That's a promise I'll be keeping." With a grin I walked to where Fuurinkazan was and sat down next Dale.

"Weren't you using a dagger the other day? Why change weapons now?" he asked me. I had taken out the Anneal Blade in my inventory and was polishing it.

"Oh, that thing's only good if you can land critical hits. I'm not confident about consistently hitting the bosses' weak spots so I thought I'd use a weapon that's easier to defend with instead."

"Fair enough. It's probably more reassuring to use a sword than a tiny knife when you're fighting some big ass monster."

"Hah! I never thought about it that way." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Liz trembling. Her fear was entirely understandable, as the creatures within the confines of the boss room would be the deadliest opponents we ever faced up to that point. Before I could do or say anything to comfort her, Klein gently put a hand on Liz's shoulder.

"Deep breaths, Liz. It'll be alright. You know what? This fight is going to be a breeze, and later when we're celebrating and stuff, we're going to look back at this moment and laaaaaaauuuuuugh about how needlessly worried we were."

"I wish I shared your optimism, Klein. I thought I'd gotten over my fears somewhat after the Illfang fight but now... I can't stop shaking."

"Listen, that's completely normal, there's no shame in that. We're just as afraid as you are – matter of fact, us Fuurinkazan guys even wrote up our wills last night. But hey, you're not alone. Take a gooood look around, Liz. We're here with you, so you can count on us. And it's not just Fuurinkazan, Elo's here as well. So are Agil, Kirito, Diavel and... uh, what's the name of your friend again? You know, the hot girl who was travelling with Elo and you that uses some kind of ridiculously pointy object?"

"Her name's Asuna, and her weapon's called a rapier," Liz replied with a chuckle.

"Ah, right. Azuna. Man, I wish she was a few years older or I were a few years younger. She's as hot as the flaming infernos of hell but I ain't touching someone her age. She's too young! My guys and I, we got a five-year-gap rule; they'd beat me up if I mess around with her."

"Haha! Don't worry Klein, if you make a move on her I'll personally make sure that nobody else will bother you."

"Liz… are you saying that you'll be my wingman!? I mean, thanks, but like I said she's a little too young for –"

"Klein, the reason you won't have to worry about the others is because I'll mess you up so badly that there will be nothing left for them to do to you," Liz clarified with a huge, friendly smile.

"R-right, how could I ever forget about the zealous best friend? That's a rookie mistake."

Thanks to Klein, the brown-haired swordswoman was no longer shivering and had cheered up considerably. Although he was normally a casual, light-hearted individual, Klein also had a sensitive side which made him good at understanding and comforting others.

 _How is the guy still single? Ladies, you're missing out._

* * *

The boss fight was challenging; it was certainly more difficult than the one on Floor 1 though it certainly was less dramatic. There were a couple of times when things started to get dangerous, and despite our awareness of Asterius' special move – a deadly breath attack with a great range and high stun rate – it still caused us significant problems. Thankfully, we prevailed without any casualties.

 _A combined total of zero deaths for two boss raids, that's not too shabby if I may say so myself. Oh, who am I kidding? It's fucking fantastic!_

In spite of our great success I couldn't relax after the fighting was over. This was supposedly the time when the Legend Braves confessed their wrongdoings to the rest of the raid party, and I was anxious about how everything would all play out.

...

"How dare you! Do you have any idea what you've done to us!?"

"I have half a mind to cut you down right now!"

 _Ugh… that's pretty much how I expected it to go._

The other players were predictably enraged when they learned about what the Legend Braves had done. For a second I was worried that things would become violent, but Diavel and Agil did a subtle yet splendid job pacifying the angry mobs. It helped immensely that the Legend Braves possessed sufficient resources to more than compensate for the loss items.

So, everything was fine afterwards, right? Of course not. When did things ever go smoothly?

"You don't think you can get away with that, do you!?" The agitated accusation caused everyone to freeze. I didn't recognise the speaker but whoever he was, he sure as hell looked furious. "Even if you sell all that fancy equipment, it won't bring back those who died from your schemes!"

 _D-Died!? Who!?_

"W-what are you talking about?" Nezha asked fearfully.

"I know someone who had to go hunting with cheap store-bought gear because he got bilked outta his equipment by you! He went up against mobs he could beat before, but this time it was he who died!" The incandescent player yelled. "You can't replace that loss with dirty cash, and you know it!"

 _That's impossible! We investigated all the players whose weapons were stolen by Nezha. None of them were killed! Did we overlook someone…!?_

The whole room went silent. The horrifying implications of that person's story were clear as day: intentionally or not, Nezha indirectly killed somebody. He was a murderer.

"Isn't that… an indirect PK!?"

"This isn't the same thing as the beta testers. We know who did it this time, and they admitted to their crimes!"

"What are you saying, you fool!?"

"I'm saying that those frauds should pay with their lives!"

"Yeah… yeah! Those scam artists must die!"

"Wait, let's not be rash! Calm down!"

"Go apologise to those who died, you bastards!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"

 _A public execution of the Legend Braves would serve as a dangerous precedent. Killing them would designate PKing as a viable means of punishment; if that were to happen, things could quickly spiral out of control. Murder will no longer be a socio-moral taboo, but may potentially exist as a tool to realise the corrupted interests of the strong!_ _Damn it, is there anything I can do to calm everyone!? Think, think, think!_

"QUIET DOWN ALL OF YOU! I SAID QUIET DOWN!"

Like a sharp blade, the thunderous voice cut through the chorus of bloodthirsty demands for retribution. The whole room went quiet as Diavel strode forward. He moved with unhurried steps until he came face to face with the enraged player who provoked bitter resentment towards the Legend Braves.

"Tell me – no, tell US about the player who died. What was his name? Which party did he belong to?" Diavel spoke with an edge.

"Uh… er… well, I heard about it from someone else," the instigator replied unconfidently. Undoubtedly Diavel's unexpected challenge caught him by surprise.

"Okay, then who did you hear it from?"

"Huh? I… um, I heard it from… you see, I overheard someone's conversation… some time ago. "

 _He's definitely ad-libbing. So he was lying this whole time? Tch, this good-for-nothing asshole! All of us could've been screwed if things went his way!_

"Intriguing. Why don't we find out the truth? I'm going to settle this here and now," Diavel declared. "Nezha! How many scams did you carry out in total?"

"E-eight in total, all within the last two weeks."

"Alright then. Now, can those – and ONLY those – players whose equipment were destroyed by Nezha come forth? Everyone else, please move back a little." Asuna, Agil and six other players stepped forward while the rest of the raid party shuffled backwards. Diavel waited for a moment before he continued speaking. "How strange, it doesn't seem like any of Nezha's victims were killed. Listen up! There is no evidence to prove that the Legend Braves are responsible for anyone's death. Hence, the only punishment they shall receive will be compensating materially for the items they stole. Any objections?"

No one had anything more to say.

* * *

With a few exceptions everyone who took part in the raid was celebrating our triumph over the Floor Bosses in Zumfut, the main settlement of Floor 3. Our friendly neighbourhood Beater and the unrivalled fencer, his steadfast companion, did not attend the festivities for obvious reasons. The merry men of Fuurinkazan opted to spend the evening with the black swordsman, and the whiskered midget was helping a certain amateur blacksmith who decided that it was time to make her debut.

 _So tired... looks like I might get a good night's sleep for once._

The lengthy, brutal boss fight, the tension-filled commotion with the Legend Braves afterwards, and spending the last couple of hours commemorating the flawless victory with Diavel, Agil, Kibaou and Lind completely worn me out so I decided to retire to my lodgings and call it an early night. I was about to drift off to sleep when I received a message from Claws asking to meet up. With a grumble I shook off my blanket and got dressed.

"Wow, you look terrible," the bespectacled tactician said upon seeing my exhausted expression.

"There are a million ways to greet someone. Couldn't you have chosen something nicer?"

"Honesty is the best policy," he replied with a pleasant smile. "Don't worry, I'll make this quick. So, many of the players in the Town of Beginnings have been encouraged by our progress over the last two months, and it seems that quite a number of them were inspired by today's resounding victory to join the front lines and fight. Great job out there, by the way."

"Okay, that's good news. It's nice to know that other people have been motivated by our efforts to make a change."

"I couldn't agree more. Anyways, would you be willing to lead a party of these new players over the next few days and teach them the basics of SAO? I know this is a huge ask, but having an experienced player as a guide would speed up the learning process. Your presence would also be immensely comforting to them. By the way, there's no need to worry about Lisbeth; Argo will accompany her in your absence."

 _The moment Argo's free enough to join us is when I've got stuff to do. Looks like it'll be a while before the three of us can travel together again, what a pity._

"Sure, I'll do it. Even though this will cut into precious grinding time, I haven't forgotten my earlier days of struggling to learn the game mechanics; it's only right that I help the new players the same way Argo helped me."

"A fantastic response. Then I'll be leaving this particular group in your care," Claws said as he handed me a sheet of paper detailing the party I would be looking after for the next few days. "I purposely chose a group who were friends IRL to make things easier for you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

 _Let's see… Moonlit Black Cats, huh? That name has a nice ring to it._

* * *

 **A/N: With this chapter we officially come to the end of Arc 1! If you were disappointed by the lack of action don't worry, because Arc 2 is pretty action-heavy.**

 **Someone suggested shortening the chapters and I think this is a fantastic idea. Aside from the fact that it's less strenuous, I feel like it's harder to focus on individual events when so many things are happening at the same time, and that kind of diminishes their significance. From now on the chapters will mostly be around 8000 words; unless it's an extra/side/special chapter it won't go above 10,000 words. This doesn't mean that the story will be cut short or that stuff will be left out, so worry not.**

 **As usual, information about the OCs can be found on my profile page. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Omake: informant and tactician

"Argo, do you enjoy torturing me specifically or are you just sadistic?"

"That's a strange question. Now why would ya ask that?" The whiskered informant looked at her friend with a puzzled expression. Clausewitz adjusted his glasses with a sigh before answering.

"You have a habit of surprising me when I'm engrossed in work. Sometimes, you sneak up to me and shout in my ear. Other times, you throw knives at me."

"I distinctly remember all of that happenin'."

"You also hide behind the door, the desk as well as under the bed just to give me a jump scare, and I'm still rather bitter about you sneaking spicy substances into my tea. I was in agony, woman. What was that anyway?"

"Ground chili pepper from Urbus. It's actually quite cheap."

"As my childhood friend I'm sure you're aware that my tolerance to spicy food is practically non-existent. It frightens me to say this, but that wasn't the worst thing you've done. That one time you were hanging outside my window wearing that horribly freaky mask almost gave me a heart attack. If SAO wasn't a death game I'm sure the NerveGear would've logged me out for having an abnormal heart rate," Clausewitz recounted with a grimace. "Did you consider what a passer-by would think if they saw you like that?"

"Yer the only one who'd still be awake at two thirty in the mornin'."

"I suppose that's true. So, whatever compelled you to shove ice cubes down my neck?" Clausewitz questioned while feeling his cold, wet nape.

"Ya still don't get it? I do all this 'cause yer hilarious expressions are impossible to resist," Argo replied with a huge grin. Despite his words she knew that her friend actually enjoyed the little tricks she played on him from time to time. "That aside, ya said ya got some interstin' info fer me?"

"That's right. I hunted down the person who lied about Nezha killing someone and interrogated him. I can see that you're worried, but I kept my face hidden and spoke with a hoarse voice. I also made sure that I wasn't being followed so my safety is in no way compromised."

"Aight, I trust ya. So, what did ya learn?"

"Apparently someone paid him quite handsomely to falsely accuse the Legend Braves. He wasn't acquainted with his client so he couldn't tell me much, aside from the fact that the person was a man in a black poncho."

"That's the same person who taught the Legend Braves about the enhancement scam!" Argo said in alarm.

"Looks like it. As of now there are three things we know about this mysterious individual who operates behind the scenes: firstly, he is very knowledgeable about SAO's game mechanics. Secondly, he has means to earn or access Cor. Lastly, he is male."

"In other words, that bastard's likely a male beta tester. Considerin' how many of us died over these two months there aren't too many possible suspects. Knowin' ya, yer probably workin' on identifyin' him, right?"

"It's a work in progress. Unfortunately, as of now we have no way of figuring out his motives."

"Do ya think he has a grudge against the Legend Braves or somethin'? Maybe he was tryin' to get them in trouble?" Argo suggested.

"It's possible but I doubt it. The instigator was too ill-prepared; if the mastermind was really aiming to dispose of them, I think he would have put more effort into instructing his minion,' Clausewitz answered. "There's not much we can deduce from the information we have."

"Do yer best, but don't let this distract ya from all the other stuff. Oh yeah, have ya finished organisin' the trainin' fer the newbies?"

"Yes, I've assigned veterans to the different groups of rookies. Weren't you helping Lisbeth with her blacksmith debut? How'd that go?"

"Heh, she got an image change, courtesy of yers truly. She'll definitely be a hit with the players. I also told Diavel to spread word 'bout her so she should be fine."

"Good to know. Well then, I have some business on Floor 1 so I'll be going. Stay safe, and let me know if your job's too stressful for you."

"Don't worry, it's busy but still bearable for now. Yer a great help, ya know."

"I'm pleased to hear that. Good night, Argo."

"G'night ya workaholic."


	9. Guidance

Ch.9 – Guidance

Do you believe in superstitions?

Ever since millennia ago, human beings have attached supernatural elements to objects, dates, activities, natural phenomena and various other things due to a combination of experience, insecurity and irrationality. While these ancient myths may not be very convincing, they are nevertheless intriguing tales which make for a good read; the animal folklores in particular interest me the most. Take the magpie, for example. There is a peculiar little rhyme about this extremely intelligent bird:

One for sorrow,

Two for mirth,

Three for a funeral,

Four for birth,

Five for heaven,

Six for hell,

Seven for the devil, his own self.

Another animal that is the subject of much superstitious belief is the black cat. Here in Japan they are considered to be a symbol of good luck. The Scots seem to think of them as a sign of riches and happiness. However, in many European countries they have been traditionally seen as harbingers of misfortune due to their perceived association with witches during the Middle Ages.

Personally, I find the image of a feline with a coat of sleek, black fur showered in moonlight quite appealing.

* * *

As you may recall, I accepted Claws' request to look after and train a group of new players known as the Moonlit Black Cats. Originally he was supposed to handle introductions between these kittens and myself, but apparently he was busy with some urgent business (something about an "intriguing individual with much potential") so he couldn't make it – not that his absence really mattered this time.

The venue where I was to meet my soon-to-be protégés was actually the orphanage on Floor 1. The last time I had the pleasure of visiting Sasha and the children was on the eve of Floor 1 boss raid. I was really looking forward to seeing them again, so much that I ended up heading for the orphanage extra early. On my way there I noticed two familiar little figures; with as friendly a smile as I could form with my lips I walked up to them.

"Hi there! Silica, 21, it's been a while. Do you remember me?" I asked amiably. The young boy's eyes flickered with recognition though he remained silent. The girl next to him looked at me with a puzzled expression for a good few seconds.

"… Ah! You're the guy who came to the orphanage with Argo and Lisbeth about a month ago," Silica answered. The way her face changed from suddenly recalling my identity was quite hilarious.

"That's correct! Can you remember my name?"

"Was it… ROFL or LMAO?" 21's hesitance was clearly evident in his voice.

"Nope, but nice try! My name's LOL," I said merrily. "What're you two doing?"

"We just finished running errands. We're about to return to the orphanage now," Silica replied.

"I see. Actually, I'm going there as well. Why don't we all walk together?" With their unanimous assent I followed them to our common destination. The children walked briskly and I had to jog a little to keep up.

"How are you guys doing?" I enquired.

"We're fine, thank you very much. And how are you?"

 _My, this boy certainly has good manners._

"I'm pretty good, thanks for asking. I wish I could drop by the orphanage more often but I've been really busy with trying to clear the game," I said with a sigh.

"Um… can I ask you something?" Silica questioned. She slowed down to match my pace, and 21 decelerated to match hers.

"Sure, go ahead."

"What's it like to fight monsters?" She asked.

"Hmm… in the beginning it was painfully difficult. I'm not particularly good at this game so it took me a long time just to get used to the combat system. Even now there's still much for me to learn."

"Isn't it scary to fight knowing that you'll die in real life if you get killed in the game?"

"Of course. It's impossible not to be afraid given SAO's unique conditions."

"Then how do you guys risk your lives battling everyday? Is there some kind of… trick to it?"

 _I wonder why she's so interested in this kind of thing._

"Different people have different ways of coping with their fears of death, but in my opinion the key factor would be experience." From the looks Silica and 21 were giving me it was obvious that further explanation was needed. "Let's see… do you two know how to cycle?"

"I can cycle but I'm not very good at it. What about you Silica?" 21 asked as he turned to his friend.

"I've never ridden a bike before."

"How about swimming? Can you swim, Silica?" I questioned. She nodded in reply.

"In a sense, fighting in SAO is similar to those activities. It's grueling and terrifying at first, and there are times when you really want to give up. I still remember when Liz and I started out: neither of us had been so nervous in our entire lives – our palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy. Definitely wasn't a pretty sight. However, we kept on fighting in spite of our anxieties. We worked ourselves to the bone training from morning to evening, and as a result grew stronger and more confident with each passing day. As we became increasingly capable we also became less fearful of SAO combat. Of course, there's still a part of us that wants to run away from all of the fighting, but that's natural. Anyways to answer your question, the reason we can risk our lives like this isn't because we're fearless people, but because we spend each day working hard to convince ourselves that we can get through this death game without dying. Sorry, that was quite a long-winded answer. Did you get the gist of it?"

"I think so. It makes a lot of sense," 21 commented.

"Does that mean anyone become a good fighter if they tried hard enough?" Silica asked me.

 _Thankfully that long-ass explanation didn't confuse them._

"Definitely, unless they have some kind of special disability," I answered while thinking of Nezha, the Legend Braves' con artist. Ever since his weapon scams were exposed the man had stopped working as a blacksmith. "Oh look, we're here."

Silica and 21 led me into the orphanage. Sasha was inside but she didn't notice our entry, for every single fibre of her attention was directed towards the task at hand. Not wanting to break her concentration Silica, 21 and I watched as the bespectacled caretaker expertly manipulated a pair of scissors and a needle to transform pieces of cloth into a cap and a dress. Having finished her sewing, Sasha looked up to see the two children and myself.

"Oh my, what a surprise! I was expecting you to arrive later, LOL. Regardless, it's a pleasure to see you again," she said as she stood up and strode towards me.

"The pleasure is mine, Sasha," I replied as I shook her hand.

"Silica, 21, thank you very much for doing the shopping. You two have been a great help. Here, these are for you," Sasha spoke with a serene smile as she handed them the articles of clothing she had just created. The two youngsters thanked her and left to mingle with their peers.

"So, how have the children been?"

"They've been well, thank you. The children's obedience makes my work quite easy, and it's always nice to have helpful kids like those two around," Sasha answered. Silica had picked up a book and was reading to a group of younger children, while 21 and a few others were playing some kind of ball game. "The mobs on Floor 2 drop a lot more Cor so supplying the orphanage with necessities has been easier."

"Ah, that's good to know." Looking around I noticed that there was a fairly large range of toys, games and books (neatly) placed in various parts of the large room; the orphanage was bereft of such goods during my last visit.

 _I wonder where all of this came from?_

"A few of the players have been donating gifts to the children. Most of the books are from Clausewitz, while some of the toys and board games are from Argo and Lisbeth," Sasha helpfully provided while pouring out a cup of tea. The timing of her answer made it seem as if she was reading my mind. "Here you go, drink it while it's warm."

"Thanks for the hospitality."

 _Man, I feel like a prick for not donating anything at all – wow, this tea is excellent._

"You don't need to feel obligated to get the children a present as well. Your amazing efforts on the front lines are the greatest gift you can possibly give to them." Sasha's calm voice reminded me of a patient mother speaking to her child.

 _What a bitterly nostalgic tone…_

"The way you can tell what I'm thinking is kind of scary. Are you actually an esper or something?" I probably would've believed her if she admitted to having some kind of mind reading powers.

"I was a social worker back in the real world. I often worked with both children and adolescents, you see, and I needed to be perceptive to understand their innermost thoughts."

"Huh, that explains a lot. By the way, where did you get this? It's delicious." I raised the beverage Sasha prepared for me.

"You can thank Argo for that. She acquired the tea leaves from Zumfut (main settlement of Floor 3) and gave them to me as a gift. You can have some of the leaves if you'd like."

"Thanks, I'll take you up on that generous offer."

* * *

Chat history

LOL: You still in Zumfut?

Lisbeth: Yup, till noon. Why?

LOL: I might bring you a few customers later

Lisbeth: You're the best! :)

LOL: Obviously. BTW how's business?

Lisbeth: Booming! Thanks to Argo and Diavel I've had hordes of customers over the last few hours. I'm pretty rich and famous now XD

LOL: Nice! I'll see you in a while

* * *

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"It looks like your students have arrived. Good luck grooming them into capable front liners," Sasha said as she went to answer the door.

"Pardon the intrusion, we're here to see someone called LOL." The speaker had a steady, distinctly masculine voice.

"I take it that you're the Moonlit Black Cats?"

"Yup, that's us!" Someone else answered. This person sounded cheerful and youthful.

"Please come in, he's expecting you." Four boys and one girl followed Sasha into the orphanage. All of them seemed to be younger than me – they were probably around Kirito's age.

 _As a veteran player and their teacher it wouldn't do for me to be passive. I should be proactive and take the initiative._

"Yo! I'm LOL, I look forward to working with you guys. Now, I'd like to put names to faces so it'd be great if you all could introduce yourselves for me."

"Yes sir. I am Keita, the leader of the Moonlit Black Cats. It is a pleasure to be under your tutelage." The young male had short, brown hair and eyes of the same colour. Something about him gave me the impression that he liked, or at least was comfortable with, being in charge. To my surprise Keita bowed to me after his self-introduction. Sasha and I exchanged a brief glance; I had a feeling she shared my bewilderment towards Keita's over the top behaviour.

 _It sure feels awkward being called 'sir'._

"Dude, relax. There's no need to be all stiff and formal, this isn't the military. We're all equals here so just chill, okay?"

"Oh… right, sorry about that."

"Man, didn't I tell you to take it easy?" Keita's friend nudged his arm while reprimanding him. This blue-eyed teenager wore a copper-coloured cloak and a stylish grey beanie over his dark yellow hair. "Anyways, I'm Ducker! It's nice to meet ya."

 _Ah, he's the one with that noticeably energetic voice._

"Likewise, Ducker."

"I guess it's my turn next. My name's Tetsuo, I'll be in your care for the next few days." Easily the tallest of the group, Tetsuo had what my sister would describe as a 'nice guy's face' (i.e. he looked like a kind person).

"I'll be in your care too so let's get along."

"I'm Sasamaru. Thanks for taking the time to train us, we really appreciate it." He had brown, curly hair, green eyes and wore a bluish… beret? I don't know what the technical term for his cap is. Sasamaru placed a hand on the shoulder of the girl right beside him. "This here is Sachi."

"H-hello. Um… thanks for your help."

 _Is she nervous because she's not good with strangers, or is it something else? It doesn't seem like she's mentally prepared to fight in SAO…_

"It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you all. Now then, there is something I must make clear. To put it simply, SAO combat is 50% ability and 50% mentality. Great skill will take you places but it isn't enough; those without strong resolves will perish eventually. Out of respect for yourselves and for those waiting in the real world, I advise you to carefully consider your purposes for fighting and the things at stake. I'm going outside for a bit. When I come back, I'm going to ask each and every one of you whether you're determined to carry on."

The purpose of life is to stay alive. Departing from a safe zone was a matter of life and death; as such, in my eyes the act itself was akin to a sacred ritual that defied our most basic survival instinct. I needed the Moonlit Black Cats to acknowledge the gravity of their choice before we began training.

Leaning against the exterior of the church I decided do some self-reflection. The way I wielded my dagger was reasonably effective but also fatally flawed in two regards: firstly, my play style was entirely dependent on stealth so it was inappropriate against enemies I couldn't sneak up on (e.g. Floor Bosses). Secondly, I needed an ally (distraction) to successfully ambush my opponents; in other words, the dagger was ineffective when I was alone or when my teammates were incapacitated.

 _I lack agility and finesse so the only way I can use a dagger effectively is to fight like an assassin. Although training and repetition will help me overcome my weaknesses it'll likely be some time before I can wield a dagger like Argo. Well, it's a good thing I know how to use other weapons._

Even when stealth was unavailable I could still play a supporting role when armed with a rapier. The thrusting weapon was not very powerful but its high speed allowed me to land multiple hits in quick succession; my favourite tactic involved stunning an enemy with a barrage of swift strikes and keeping it in place for my teammates to deal the finishing blow(s). Additionally, I was also capable of wielding one-handed swords and one-handed curved blades so I could hold my own well enough if needed.

 _I have experience playing as a tank, damage dealer and support, though I'm not particularly good at any of these roles. I suppose I'm what people call a 'jack of all trades, master of none'. I still haven't found a weapon I'm particularly comfortable with yet, guess I should keep trying out new ones. It's almost been a minute; I should head inside now._

"I'm back. Does anyone have seconds thoughts? There's no shame in quitting. After all, not everyone can consciously put their lives on the line," I said to the five new players. Each of the (Moonlit) Black Cats assured me, with varying degrees of confidence, that they were here to stay.

 _I can only hope that this moment will be the birth of heroes and not the prologue to a tragic end._

"Very well, it looks like everyone's made up their mind. First things first, the starting gear's pretty crap so you guys won't be using that. Instead, we're going to pay my blacksmith friend a little visit. Sounds good?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Okay."

"Mm-hmm."

"Aight, let's go! Let's go!"

"Great idea."

And thus we left for the Teleport Gate.

* * *

"Heya L! Thanks for visiting!"

… _Is this really Liz? Nah, can't be. Wait, that sign says 'Lisbeth's Smithy'._

Sitting cross-legged on a [Vendor's Carpet] with a variety of weapons to her side and an anvil in front of her was my close friend. Her appearance had changed drastically: yesterday she had brown hair and wore a red one-piece dress. The girl I was looking at had fluffy pink hair and was wearing something that looked liked a waitress' uniform – she even had an apron tied around her waist! At least she kept the white hairpin from before.

 _Holy crap. And here I was thinking that people don't change overnight._

"Dude, you're spacing out."

 _She does look quite appealing like this. Taking into account that a large proportion of gamers are young (virgin) men, the image change should be quite good for business. Smart move._

"Earth to L! Stop ignoring me," Liz said. She tapped on my leg with her blacksmith hammer.

"A cute chick like you can't be Liz. Liz is supposed to be some average-looking girl who has nothing going for her visually except for that baby face of hers."

"You can't even compliment me without adding an insult in the same sentence, huh. So, these are the newbies you're training?"

"Yup, they're the Moonlit Black Cats. Everyone, this is Lisbeth. She's a girl who's very good with her hands." The effect was instantaneous: Sachi, Ducker and Sasamaru were red as a beet. Keita's response was an impressed whistle. Tetsuo just looked at me in disbelief.

"Don't go spouting nonsense that'll cause misunderstandings!" Liz reprimanded exasperatedly as she smacked my knee with her hammer.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist!" I said with a huge smile on my face. "Now then, why don't you guys pick a weapon from Lizzy's inventory? I'll pay so don't worry about the cost."

"Are you sure?" Keita asked.

"Think of it as a gift for starting your journey. There's no need to hold back on my account, choose whatever you like."

"Sweet! Thanks for the present," Ducker said as he immediately went for the dagger. He looked like a giddy little kid excitedly reaching for a bowl of candy. Sasamaru glanced at Liz's wares for a bit before grabbing a spear with a cheerful grin.

"Excuse me, what's the difference between these two?" Tetsuo asked Liz. He held a war hammer in one hand and an axe in the other.

"Both of them do relatively large damage. That one's got higher durability and attack power but it's also heavier and slower," Liz said while pointing at the hammer. Tetsuo put down the axe and gave the weighty mallet a couple of swings.

"It's powerful but feels too heavy," he commented with a frown.

"Give this a try, it's my personal favourite," Liz suggested as she handed Tetsuo a mace. Satisfied with her recommendation, he armed himself with a small kite shield and completed his selection.

Keita carefully examined each weapon. He picked up a sword and inspected it closely before returning the blade to where it belonged.

"Is dual wielding possible in this game?" he asked.

"Although you can equip two weapons, there aren't any Sword Skills that allow to use them together. For example, if you're equipped with an axe and a dagger, you can use Sword Skills involving either the axe or the dagger, but you can't use an axe technique and a dagger technique at the same time, and there aren't any Sword Skills that involves both being used simultaneously," Liz answered.

"Aren't there two-handed Sword Skills though?"

"Those are only for two-handed weapons. Unless you can use two weapons without relying on the system assist, you're probably better off with a single weapon or a shield."

"That's too bad." In the end Keita settled for a staff. Sachi hesitatingly perused the equipment on offer before slowly reaching for a spear.

"I guess I'll go with the longer-ranged support weapon," she said with a nervous laugh. Liz picked up on Sachi's anxiety but didn't say anything in particular.

"It looks like we're ready to go," Keita said to me. With the exception of Sachi everyone else was eager to get started; Ducker in particular looked as if he would explode from excitement.

"Hold on, this doesn't seem right." All five members of the Moonlit Black Cats looked at me questioningly. "It's not a good idea to only have one tank for a five-man party. At least another one of you should play as a vanguard alongside Tetsuo."

"Ah! You're right!" Ducker exclaimed in agreement. "Well, I can't be a scout and a tank at the same time so someone else will have to switch weapons."

"I'm much more comfortable playing as an all-out damage dealer than as a tank. Hey Sachi, why don't you switch to a sword and shield?"

"Huh!? B-but I…"

"It's no big deal Sachi, just hide behind your shield!" Tetsuo suggested with a carefree tone.

"Seriously, you've always been such a scaredy-cat! Don't worry Sachi, you'll be fine," Ducker added. Sasamaru wore a conflicted expression: it seemed as if he wanted to object, but couldn't find the words or courage to do so.

"O-okay…" Despite her verbal agreement Sachi wore a look of despair. Keita seemed satisfied with how the issue was resolved.

 _I can't believe this! Are these guys blind or are they just insensitive to how Sachi feels? And why is she just agreeing like that? Damn, it looks like I'll have to inter–_

"Now wait a minute!" Liz yelled as she stood up quickly. "You can't just tell someone to fight on the front lines all of a sudden and expect them to be fine with it! Look at her, she's terrified!"

I resisted the urge to applaud her outburst.

"That's… true, but it would make sense strategically for Sachi to be a vanguard. That way we'll have a decent combination of defenders, attackers and supports within the party," Keita pointed out.

"Hold that thought for a moment Keita. Hey, Sachi." Said girl flinched slightly upon hearing me call her. "Teamwork involves discussion and compromise, not silent acquiescence. Try to speak your mind, I'm sure that'll help everyone reach a better solution."

"I…" Sachi wavered a little before she continued. "I'm sorry, but I really, really don't want to fight on the frontlines. I know that everyone will benefit if I played as a tank, but I can't. I'm too terrified to be a vanguard, that was why I chose a spear in the first place." Keita's expression was a mixture of guilt and misery; the same could be said for Ducker and Tetsuo. Seeing their friend on the verge of bursting into tears made them truly realize the extent of their friend's anxiety and their neglecting of it. Sasamaru's expression was melancholic but he also looked a little relieved.

"I'm sorry for being insensitive, Sach," Ducker apologised.

"Me too. If we knew you were this scared, we wouldn't have told you play as a tank. No one's going to force you, so cheer up okay?" Keita said.

"I'll be blunt and say this: nobody is going to benefit if you're too scared to play properly as a tank. Remember, those without sufficient resolve will not last long," I told Sachi who nodded in response. "By the way, why did you choose a spear, Sasamaru?"

"Mainly because I wanted to use a fast weapon. I know that hammers and maces have way higher attack power but they're too slow for my liking," he answered.

"I see. Have you thought about the role you'll be playing within the party?"

"Well, Keita's our main damage dealer and Ducker's our scout so I was thinking I'd play as a support."

"Makes sense. I have a suggestion; feel free to say no, but do listen to it carefully. Instead of using a spear, I propose switching to a scimitar – which also has god attack speed – and playing as a tank. What do you think?"

"I can see where you're coming from. I'll admit that I don't mind using a scimitar, and we do need a tank, though I'm not keen to fight up front. However," Sasamaru spared the sole female of the group a quick glance, "I'd rather the vanguard be me than Sachi. I'm reluctant, but I'm not completely terrified; I'll give being a tank a go, and if I'm fine with it then I'll stick to it."

"I'm sorry, Sasamaru. Because of me, you –"

"D-don't be sorry, Sachi. All of us are suited for different things, right?" The curly-haired teen reassured his friend. For some reason he wasn't making eye contact.

"Keita, Ducker, Tetsuo. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Sasamaru being the Black Cats' other tank?" Neither of the three objected to the new arrangement. "Great, now we can move on."

"Ooh, looks like yer doin' an amazin' job, L _sensei._ "

 _#%$! Will she ever stop sneaking up to people!_

"… Aah! You're Argo the Rat!" Keita exclaimed excitedly with a finger pointed at the midget.

 _I can't help but find that nickname derogatory. I mean, 'rat'? Come on! Argo seems to be quite proud of it though._

"Yup, it's me. Ya want an autograph?" Argo jokingly asked. She was slightly caught off guard when Keita actually handed her a pencil and paper, but decided to be a good sport and humoured him with her signature. Argo was already one of the most well-known players due to the proliferation of her strategy guide; after word of her phenomenal contributions towards clearing Floor 2 had gotten out, the informant was propelled to a position of unparalleled fame. She was Aincrad's no. 1 celebrity, and my protégés were basking in her glorious presence.

"Hey there, unknown animal species 'Argo'." My fingers formed quotation marks when I said her name.

 _I wonder how many words I can string together for Argo's nickname?_

"Oi, watch what ya say. I've bitten ya fer callin' me an animal, I'll do it again."

"Whoa, let's try to keep our interactions civilised. I know that this human concept may be difficult for you to understand, but do your best, unknown animal species 404 not found but also known as 'Argo'."

"Liz ~ the lanky, ugly guy is bullyin' me again!"

 _I'm tall – not lanky – and sure as hell not ugly! Just because I'm not handsome doesn't mean I'm ugly!_

"Dear me! You should get your brain and yeyes checked out, chibi (Japanese slang for something short) version unknown animal species 404 not found but also known as 'Argo'."

"Aight, that's it! Liz, gimme yer hammer." The blacksmith handed Argo the desired object, and the whiskered girl waved the mallet at me menacingly.

"You're going to help her harm your customer, Liz?"

"Let's put it this way: Argo's the one who'll be travelling with me over the next few days. Besides, animal abuse is wrong."

 _Hah, good one Liz!_

"Yer a terrible person Lizzy, ya know that?" Argo commented with an adorable pout. Liz just laughed merrily. "Oh yeah, there's somethin' I need to tell ya. This also concerns ya, L."

"What is it?" Liz asked. Argo smirked and spoke.

…

"What!? No way!"

"Seriously!?"

"Nyahaha. I knew ya'd be surprised. Ya guys can relax, he's in capable hands."

"… I suppose that's true," Liz said with a sigh.

"Well, we should probably get going or we'll never get started. Please stay safe, I'd be devastated if anything were to happen to you guys," I said to Liz and Argo.

"Don't worry, be happy and have fun teachin' yer students," Argo replied with a wave.

"See you in a few days," Liz added.

* * *

"You never told us that you were friends with Argo the Rat!" Keita said to me.

"Argo has lots of friends, being one of them isn't anything special. Anyways, here we are." A wave of nostalgia washed over me as I stood once more in the fields outside the Town of Beginnings.

 _It's almost been two months and we've only gotten to Floor 3. I don't want to rush but we've got to speed things up._

"The only mobs that spawn here are oversized pigs known as the Frenzy Boar. They are extremely weak and pose no threat, especially because of your equipment," I said to the Black Cats. Earlier we had sold their starting equipment and used the Cor we gained to buy them better armour (I chipped in some Cor too). "These things are passive monsters which means they'll only turn hostile after you attack them. Keita and Ducker, that one's yours."

"Understood." Keita was completely focused on his opponent.

"Alright, I've got this." There was an element of uncertainty to Ducker's voice but he wore a determined look.

Keita yelled and charged at the Frenzy Boar, Ducker following closely behind. With all his might he whacked the mob in the head using his staff, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from it. Ducker was surprised by the monster's loud cry of pain, but quickly regained his bearings and stabbed it to death. Both teenagers did not move from their spot even after the Frenzy Boar shattered into pieces; they just stood there frozen, breathing heavily and staring dumbly at the space where their defeated enemy once stood.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" My voice snapped the two teens out of their stupor. Ducker began cheering happily and loudly. Keita wiped the sweat off his forehead and high-fived his partner with a large smile. "Well done, take a break. Sachi, get ready."

"M-me!?"

"Calm down, you'll be fine. Sasamaru, Tetsuo, I'd like one of you to accompany Sachi."

"I'll do it," Sasamaru replied with his hand raised. One would think that the boy was eager for battle from the quickness of his response but his face betrayed a hint of worry.

"Very good. All you two need to do is mimic what Keita and Ducker just did. Sasamaru, you'll deal the first blow. Sachi, finish the monster off. Understood?" Both of them nodded in reply. "That's your target over there. I know you can do it."

"Er… let's get this over with, Sach."

"Y-yeah."

They ran towards the unsuspecting mob, but then something unexpected happened: Sasamaru tripped and landed on his face. Sachi quickly put down her spear to help her friend up.

"Hold it!" I shouted, my voice a little louder than I intended it to be. "Sachi, if you let go of your weapon both of you will become vulnerable. Next time, hold onto your spear and stand between the enemy and the person who fell down. That way you can fend off incoming attacks while they recover."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Sorry, I screwed up," Sasamaru apologised.

"Making mistakes is an important part of training so don't worry about it. With that said, don't you have a monster to kill?" I reminded them. They hastily charged at their target and destroyed it without any resistance, though Sachi somehow almost missed the monster entirely when she thrust her spear at it. Tetsuo was successful in his attempt later on.

I pretty much remembered Argo's training methods so I simply re-used them for the Moonlit Black Cats. Once the five had gotten comfortable enough with the basics, we rested for a while before moving on to Horunka Village, the settlement closest to the Town of Beginnings. We could have easily reached our destination considering our equipment, numbers and my familiarity with the route we were taking but we took our sweet time so that the Black Cats could get more opportunities to battle and practice. As expected, there were numerous things they needed to improve on but they performed splendidly: the six of us arrived at Horunka without much intervention on my part. This was all the more impressive considering it was their very first day fighting.

Later that evening, I was sorting out my inventory when someone knocked on my door.

"You said you wanted to talk?"

"That's right. Don't worry, it's nothing too serious. This won't take long, but do make yourself comfortable, Tetsuo." I waited for my guest to sit down before continuing. "Now that you have some hands-on experience playing as a tank, what are your thoughts about it?"

"It's definitely more tiring than I expected, but at the same time it's really rewarding."

"Is that so?"

"How do I say this… well, as a tank I can protect everyone else from danger, right? This might sound cheesy, but knowing that I can ensure the safety of my friends makes me really happy," Tetsuo said with a gentle smile.

"I heard that the five of you were friends IRL though I didn't expect you guys to be such a close-knit group," I commented. Having spent an entire day with them, I could see that the Black Cats genuinely enjoyed being with each other.

"Keita, Ducker and I have been best buds since we were kids. Sasamaru and Sach were in Keita's class last year, he was the one who introduced them to us."

"I see. Well, I called you here because I wanted to check if you were fine with your role on the team and it seems like you're more than satisfied. Thanks for dropping by, Tetsuo."

"And thanking you for looking after us." We exchanged a few more words before he left.

 _Keita, Ducker and Sasamaru also said that they were happy with how things are going. I didn't get a chance to speak with Sachi since she was exhausted and went to bed early, but she's obviously much more comfortable with combat compared to this morning. I suppose it's safe to say that the first day's been a success. Now then, I should plan out tomorrow's training…_

* * *

Chat history

Klein: What's the difference between a snowman and a snowwoman?

LOL: WTF is a snowwoman?

Klein: The female version of a snowman XD

LOL: What the hell? So, what's the difference?

Klein: Snowballs!

LOL: Stop it. Get some help

* * *

"Keita, Ducker and Sachi. It has come to my attention that you guys share a common problem which needs to be addressed," I said to the three Black Cats. It was already the fourth day of our training, and my protégés were improving rapidly; I thought that they were doing a much better job compared to me back when I was starting out. "All of you are far too afraid of being hit."

"Well, duh. Isn't the point of all this training to help us avoid getting hit?" Ducker asked.

"That's true. However, you guys tend to panic or close your eyes whenever a monster slips past Sasamaru or Tetsuo. If you freeze up like that every time, you'll miss valuable opportunities to counterattack, and your fights will become much harder."

"I see where you're coming from. That does make sense," Keita said. Sachi and Ducker voiced their agreements as well. "What should we do then?"

"I've thought of a little exercise. Assuming everything goes well, you guys will be more or less fine with getting hit by mobs," I cheerily replied.

"And if it doesn't go well?"

 _You guys will probably end up traumatised or something._

"Nothing too bad will happen. Come on, let's get going."

Moments later the six of us were standing out in the open. Tetsuo, Sasamaru and I were armed but the other three did not wield their weapons. They also looked very nervous.

"Remember to keep your eyes open! You'll be fine!" I shouted as a Dire Wolf spawned nearby. They flinched visibly as the monster bolted towards them. It leaped onto Keita and the boy cried out as the creature bit and scratched him.

"Stay calm! Focus on the enemy and keep an eye on your HP bar!" I yelled. We allowed the monster to continue its assault; once Keita's HP dropped below 50% Tetsuo and Ducker immediately moved to attack the Dire Wolf. By the time the creature was defeated his HP was still within the yellow zone. The Black Cats' leader quickly pulled out a health potion and emptied its contents down his throat.

If the three Black Cats were unaccustomed to getting hit then the quickest solution would be to force them to take hits until they became used to it. The purpose of this special training was twofold: firstly, to get Keita, Ducker and Sachi comfortable enough with being smacked around that they could focus on their enemies and their HP instead of simply freezing up. Secondly, to allow those three (safe) opportunities to experience their HP dropping below the green zone. I had heard tales of players panicking upon seeing their HP bar reduced to levels they were familiar with, and I didn't want my students to suffer similar breakdowns in the future. We repeatedly exposed the non-tank members of the Black Cats to assaults from different monsters and came to their aid when their HP had dropped considerably. Fortunately, my plan had gone as planned: a few monsters later Keita, Sachi and Ducker were able to keep their cool even when they were under enemy attack. Satisfied with the results, we moved on to the next nearest settlement.

* * *

 _Damn it, I can't sleep again. I'll go outside and get some practice, that'll be more productive than lying around unable to fall asleep._

My impromptu plan was disrupted when I saw Sachi standing outside the inn. The two of us weren't expecting company so there was a short, surprised silence.

"What're you doing out here so late?" I asked her.

"Originally I was doing some thinking in my room, but I came out here to stargaze. At night, the skies are dark and empty where I lived, but here the night sky is so beautiful," Sachi said as she looked upwards. I followed her gaze and took in the magnificent view. "If only SAO wasn't such a horrible death game."

"I know, it's a pity. So, what kind of thoughts are keeping you up?"

"I was just thinking about the last few days. Originally I was so scared of leaving the Town of Beginnings, but now I'm pretty much fine with battling different kinds of monsters. I can't believe that I changed so much in such a short time."

"Your efforts have been nothing but brilliant. I must ask though, why did you choose to fight when you were so terrified back then? Ah, I should apologise. It's rude of me to pry."

"No, that question's fine. It's understandable that you ask that given my behaviour," Sachi replied with a smile. "The reason why I left was because, in my mind, the alternative was worse. Keita and the others were rather keen to participate in clearing the game; I was afraid that they would've left me if I insisted on staying in the Town of Beginnings."

"What if they knew about your fears and chose to keep you company?"

"That would've been equally unacceptable. I can't allow them to give up their ambitions for me."

"You certainly are a loyal person. Would you mind if I asked you another personal question?"

"Let me hear it, and I'll let you know if I'm willing to answer or not."

"On the day we first met, Keita asked you to play as a tank and you agreed without much objection. You were obviously reluctant, so why?"

"I didn't want to hold the group back. We needed another tank, and I thought it would be selfish to refuse something that was for the greater good of the group due to my own weaknesses. Thanks to you and Lisbeth, I now know better. If you two hadn't intervened, I probably would've succumbed to the immense pressure and… I don't know, maybe I'd run away or something."

"It is always a pleasure to be of service to a beauty like yourself, milady," I declared with a dramatic flourish. Sachi burst out laughing. My tone made it clear that the statement was meant to be humorous, not romantic, and Sachi understood this.

"It's my turn to ask a question. Why are you awake now? As you said, it is pretty late."

"Erratic sleeping patterns, nothing I can do about it. You should head back in soon or else you'll be too tired for tomorrow."

"I'll heed your advice then. Good night."

"Good night, Sachi."

* * *

I finally bid farewell to the Black Cats after six days of intensive, highly successful training. I decided to drop by the orphanage before returning to Floor 3. I was a little surprised to see that the one who answered the door wasn't Sasha but 21.

 _Oh look, he's wearing the cap Sasha made him. It has the words 'git gud' (get good) on it in, how cheeky._

"Heyo, it's me. I thought I'd come and say goodbye before going back to the front lines. Where's Sasha? Is she out?"

"No, she's in her room… arguing with Silica," 21 answered with a grimace. "They've been like this for the last couple of days."

 _I just can't imagine Sasha looking angry or getting into a fight with anyone._

"That's unusual, why're they arguing?"

"Silica really wants to fight the monsters outside the Town of Beginnings, and Sasha really doesn't want her to."

 _So that's why she asked me all those questions about battling mobs._

"I didn't realize that Silica was such a… battle hungry person."

"No, she isn't. She just wants to earn money and help Sasha. Please come inside, they should be done soon."

"Alright. So, what do you think? Do you agree with Silica or Sasha?"

"Um… I don't know. Neither of them are wrong so it's hard to choose."

"And what do you think about leaving the safe zone and fighting monsters?"

"… I want to try it. Even though it's dangerous, it sounds so exciting."

"You're the type of kid who likes roller-coasters and all those high-speed stuff, aren't you?"

"Hehe, that's right."

A furious Silica emerged from one of the church's rooms and stormed out of the orphanage without even noticing 21 or myself. The boy sighed and declared that he was going to chase after his friend.

"Oh dear, you've caught as at a rather inappropriate time," Sasha said when she saw me.

"21 told me about everything. Apparently Silica's quite keen to assist you by farming the mobs near the Town of Beginnings. 21 also seems to be interested in fighting the monsters, though I take it he hasn't been as… insistent as her."

"Yes, you're absolutely right. I really appreciate Silica's desire to help but I cannot allow a little girl like her to do something so risky."

"I'm playing the devil's advocate by saying this, but shouldn't it be safe enough if those two stick to hunting in the nearby fields? The only mobs that spawn are Frenzy Boars, and those things are quite harmless," I challenged Sasha.

"At its very core, SAO is a game designed to be enjoyed by its consumers. Once the children get a taste of SAO combat, I doubt they'll be content with remaining on the first floor fighting nothing but passive monster. They'll get bored and want to explore more dangerous areas; that's what I'm worried about. Confident children can be dangerous risk takers."

… _I didn't about that at all._

"With that said, I'm not even their real mother. I don't have the right to dictate their lives," Sasha said with a frown. "It pains me to say this, but who am I to stop them from doing whatever they want? Those two will need someone to teach them how to fight, yet I can't bring myself to do it."

 _I think I know what I need to do._

"If... Sasha, if you ultimately decide to let them fight, I can teach them the basics. It would be too cruel for you to instruct them when you're so against the kids fighting in the first place. I've already spent the last six days tutoring new players, what's one more?" I offered.

Thus I spent half an extra day teaching two twelve-years-old kids how to stab monsters to death. Choosing a weapon for them wasn't difficult: considering their height, daggers were the perfect tools for them. Silica and 21 were surprisingly fast learners once they had gotten over their initial anxieties; by time we were done they looked as if they were SAO veterans. Then again, their enemies were passive monsters which could be defeated with just a single blow so that made them look more impressive than they actually were.

I finally returned to Floor 3 after spending almost a whole week on the first floor tutoring new players. To my delight the front liners had progressed throughout the newest floor amazingly quickly: most parties were already exploring the labyrinth, and it was believed that the boss room would be discovered within the next couple of days. I didn't get the chance to grind at all so I was a few levels below the minimum requirement for participating in the boss raid. Argo was busy searching for information regarding the Floor Boss, and a significant portion of Liz's time was dedicated towards blacksmithing so I needed to find someone else to party with if I wanted to make it in time for the boss fight.

I decided to contact the most hardcore grinders I knew and told them about my circumstances. Thankfully they were willing to let me join them despite knowing that I would likely be nothing but a hindrance. Upon reaching our meeting place in Dessel (town closest to the labyrinth) I was caught off guard. I was expecting to see Aincrad's strongest duo, but who on earth – rather, who on Aincrad was that female elf who was with them?

* * *

 **A/N: Happy New Year everybody! May you all prosper and have good health :)**

 **As you can guess, the 'female elf' is Kizmel, a canon character from SAO Progressive who also appeared in Hollow Realization (one of the SAO games).**

 **Writing about Sasha is actually quite fun, she's not very developed in the anime so I get to use my imagination a bit.**

 **In the anime, when most of the characters are introduced they are already full-fledged players. It's interesting to come up with stories of how each character started out and why they chose to fight**

 **As usual, thanks for reading and updated information about the OCs is on my profile page. Have a good day!**

* * *

Omake: Surrogate mother

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Silica?"

"Shh! It's fine, we'll be back before anyone notices."

The twelve-years-old girl had come to the conclusion that begging Sasha to permit her to fight would be nothing more than a futile endeavour. Therefore her solution was to sneak out of the Town of Beginnings at three in the morning and return before anybody woke up. She had a copy of Argo's strategy guide so she was confident she could learn combat all on her own. Naturally 21 faithfully tagged along with her schemes.

"And where do you think you're going?"

 _Oh no. Why is she here!?_

 _We're dead. We're so dead._

Silica and 21 braced themselves as Sasha marched towards them. Sasha was the kindest person in the world, but even she wouldn't forgive them for breaking the orphanage's sacred rule that nobody was allowed to leave without her permission.

"Eh?"

The bespectacled woman knelt down and embraced them tightly.

"Equipment like that won't do you any good. Take this and buy yourself something better," Sasha said as she transferred them Cor she had saved up. "Listen to me. LOL is waiting for you at the teleport gate, he'll teach you how to fight. Stay safe and listen to him, okay?" Silica and 21 didn't know how to respond so they wordlessly returned the hug. The two of them walked silently to the teleport gate to meet up with LOL while trying to wrap their minds around what just happened.

In their minds, Sasha was not only the kindest person in the world; she was also fearless. They vividly remembered the day when a trio of men came by the orphanage, unreasonably demanding Sasha and all the children vacate the church so that they could have the building to themselves. The kids were all scared out of their minds, but Sasha stood her ground without the slightest hint of fear at the doorway. Sasha had no experience of SAO combat, and the three hoodlums were far larger than her. Yet she resolutely denied the men entry despite them screaming obscenities and threats at her. Fortunately Godfree and a blond-haired girl with a ponytail intervened before things took a turn for violent. The two individuals were passing by coincidentally, and immediately jumped to Sasha's defence after realizing what was happening. Argo and Clausewitz later made sure that the men would never bother Sasha or the children again (nobody was killed but three people were harmed and likely traumatised).

To Silica and 21, seeing the unshakable Sasha tear up while bidding them farewell was nothing short of surreal. At the same time there was a painful feeling in their chest for having been the cause of their surrogate mother's tears.

"... I'll treat my parents better when I get back to the real world," Silica said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, me too."


	10. Interlude: Fall and Rise (1 of 2)

Interlude 1 – Fall and rise (1/2)

While it has been my greatest joy and privilege to tell you about the epic of SAO, contemplating how to portray this amazing tale was definitely an arduous – and at times painful – task. For many days I grappled with countless questions: as the narrator, what kind of voice should I speak with? Should I portray the events chronologically, or would a non-linear approach be more intriguing? Would it be better to focus on a particular individual throughout the entire story or regularly alternate perspectives? How can I recreate Aincrad's artificial yet unparalleled beauty when all I have are mere words? The end result of my long hours of musing is, of course, the story you have been patiently listening to. Admittedly, my narrating skills leave much to be desired; for that I sincerely apologise. Fortunately, there is still much storytelling to be done so I will have plenty of opportunities to improve and redeem myself – but I digress.

Differing perspectives can make a story more interesting, so I thought it'd be a good idea to include a few short episodes about other players here and there at the slight cost of briefly interrupting the 'main story'. Having said that, I am now going to shift the focus from my merry companions and I to someone who I respect a lot. I will step into the shadows so that he may walk onto the stage and bask in the spotlight. My dear audience, allow me the honour of telling you about the fall and rise of Oshiro Daisuke, otherwise known by his SAO username Dillon. For those who may have forgotten, he is the purple-haired teenager Asuna, Liz and I saved from that particularly nasty Field Boss on Floor 2. Let us return to the halcyon days of May 2022, six months before the death trap disguised as an innocent VR game was released to the public.

* * *

"I'm home!"

Daisuke, the youngest member of a household of four, announced as he entered his house. He was a rather tall yet skinny fifteen-year-old junior high student with short, spiky black hair and light beige skin. The four-eyed teenager (two of his eyes were brown, the other two rectangular) stepped into the living room to find his older sister lazily lounging on the couch reading a fashion magazine. The TV was turned on but she didn't seem to be paying it any attention.

"Yo. Where were you, Daisuke?"

"Akira's."

"Typical. All you ever do is hang out with Akira and Ryouta. Why don't you do something more meaningful like joining an afterschool club?"

"I'll pass. None of the club activities interest me."

"You say that, but didn't you join the volleyball club last year?"

"That was only because Ryouta thought it'd be fun and convinced me to try it out with him. I quit after he broke his foot two weeks later."

"You make it sound like Ryouta was your only friend there. Did you not get along with the other club members?"

"It's not as if we disliked each other, we just never really clicked."

"Oh, is that so."

Daisuke was by no means a misanthropic person. He was, however, quite shy and awkward when it came to people he was unfamiliar with. This particular shortcoming made it difficult for him to form any close attachments with his peers, even though he generally got on well enough with though. Among the handful of people whom he considered as friends, he got on best with two teenagers called Akira and Ryouta; the former was his neighbour and the latter was someone he'd known since elementary school. Fortunately for Daisuke, both were in his class.

"It's not like I can join a club now even if I wanted to. I promised mom that I'll start going to _juku_ (cram school) so I won't have time for afterschool activities," Daisuke told his sister.

"Seriously? How come?" The elder Oshiro asked in surprise. Their mother had been concerned about Daisuke's senior high entrance exams and was insistent on enrolling her son to a _juku_ to ensure that he was on top of his schoolwork. It took the teen no small amount of persuasion for Mrs. Oshiro to change her mind (the fact that Daisuke had consistently good grades helped his case tremendously).

"That was the only way I could convince her to let me get a copy of SAO when it comes out in November. It was a painful but necessary sacrifice."

"So you're willing to sit through hours of remedial classes just for the sake of one video game? Doesn't seem worth it to me."

Daisuke stared at his sister as if she were a heretic.

"Oh my g – you don't understand anything! SAO isn't just some video game; it's a huge milestone in VR technology! People have been dreaming about something like this for years! Existing VR games have practical issues such as spatial restrictions and limited range of motions, but SAO breaks down all those physical barriers and –"

"I get it, I get it! SAO is great, bla bla bla, you can stop right there!" Daisuke's sister spoke hurriedly to interrupt her brother's passionate speech. "Sheesh, is everybody as hyped up about this SAO game as you, or are you a special case?"

* * *

"DID YOU SEE THE NEW SAO TRAILER!? IT'S SO COOL!"

"Dude, stop shouting. You're hurting my ears," Daisuke reprimanded. Ryouta's loud voice provoked a few stares from their classmates. It was lunch break the next day and the two friends were in their classroom chatting between mouthfuls of food. "But yeah, that trailer was the sickest thing ever! The graphics were amazing and the combat looks so smooth!"

"I know right!? I really hope we get chosen as beta testers. Seeing video clips of Aincrad is one thing; actually being there is another!"

"We'll be busy preparing for our January entrance exams over the winter break so the only time we can really let loose and enjoy SAO will be during the beta test in August."

"Now why'd you have to bring that up!? I was trying to forget about them entrance exams man!" Ryouta exclaimed sadly. Daisuke couldn't help but smile at his friend's dismayed expression. "By the way, do you wanna hang after school?"

"Definitely. It'll be just the two of us since Akira's ill. I sure didn't expect him to be bedridden with a fever, he was completely fine when we were at his place yesterday."

"Meh, shit happens. Hey, why don't we get Shinichi to join us?" Nagata Shinichi – Akira's younger brother – was a first-year at Daisuke's school. He was a meek, honest boy who tended to act impulsively when excited (and he was quite excitable). Daisuke was on good terms with Shinichi as they not only grew up together in the same neighbourhood but also shared similar interests.

"Sure, let's go ask him if he's free." Daisuke quickly packed up his empty _bento_ (prepared by mommy dearest), stuffed it into his school bag and followed Ryouta to a lower floor of the school building. Contrary to expectations Shinichi was absent from his classroom.

"Nagata? Oh, he was called out by Masato- _senpai_. Not sure where they went to," one of the first-years told the duo. Alarm bells went off in Daisuke's head. He shared an unsettled glance with Ryouta before they split up and searched for Shinichi worriedly.

Masato Katowaki was probably the most popular student in the whole school. He was admired by his peers and favoured by the teachers for his nice personality and incredible talents: the third-year was not only an exceptional baseball player who led the school team to countless victories as its captain, he was also one of the top scorers (academically) of his year. However, some claim that underneath Katowaki's good-natured façade was a nasty bully who derived pleasure from tormenting others – though most believed that this 'dark side' of the model student was nothing but a mere fabrication.

Daisuke and Ryouta never gave the rumours much thought. Katowaki wasn't someone they associated with so they couldn't care less about hearsay relating to him. Yet, at the moment the rumours were the only reasonable explanation as to why the third-year would seek out Shinichi when the two were unacquainted and uninvolved in the first place (the entire situation could be a misunderstanding but better to be safe than sorry).

Several minutes later, Daisuke was the one who found Shinichi and a black-haired female cornered by Katowaki at the bottom of a staircase.

"You're getting on my nerves, you damn brats! Give me your money now or I'll beat it out of you!" The third-year threatened. Shinichi was clearly fearful of Katowaki (his legs were shaking) but refused to give in to his demands. The anonymous girl next to him wore a defiant expression. She was about to make a retort but Daisuke chose that exact moment to interfere.

"Oi! Leave them alone!" Daisuke yelled, stepping between the bully and his targets. Perhaps it was because of the adrenaline rush but the normally shy Daisuke had not trouble staring Katowaki dead in the eye.

"Oh? Who do you think you are, punk!?" Katowaki grabbed Daisuke by the collar. Normally the forceful move would incite fear and panic, yet the four-eyed teen's glare did not falter in the slightest (aren't adrenaline rushes amazing?). Irritated by his adversary's lack of reaction, the bully shoved Daisuke roughly so that his body collided with Shinichi's and the girl's before painfully slamming into the wall behind him.

Daisuke was furious, but he absolutely lost it when Katowaki spat on him.

"You fucking bastard!" Daisuke roared. He would've attacked the sneering third-year if the girl by his side hadn't held him back. She was MUCH stronger than her physical appearance suggested.

"Masato, you should leave before you get hurt. Injuries could spell the end of your baseball career," she warned. Daisuke would've been impressed with her calmness if he wasn't so furious.

"Bitch, you think I can't take that loser in a fight!?"

"Do you really want to take the risk?"

There was a tense silence as both parties stared down each other. Nobody made a move. Daisuke took a deep breath to steady himself but otherwise stood his ground.

"Daaaaaaamn Masato! Back at it again with the shitty bullying!" Everybody turned their heads to see Ryouta approach them. The teen wore a cheerful expression but there was an edge to his voice. The bully was aware that the sudden appearance of a second adversary meant his chances at emerging from a potential fight unscathed had gone down drastically.

"Tch… this isn't over. You better grow eyes out of the back of your heads!" Katowaki threatened as he stormed away, barging into Ryouta in the process. The optimistic boy knew better than to retaliate and kept his cool.

"Shinichi, are you alright?" Daisuke asked. The black-haired girl had stopped restraining him so he was free to check up on his friend.

"Aah… that was so scary! If you and Suguh –"

"Ahem!"

"I-I mean, if you and Kirigaya weren't here, I would've been in big trouble," Shinichi finished feebly.

"Even though you were afraid, you did a good job not caving in. Well done," the girl, now known as Kirigaya, said to Shinichi. Her praise caused his expression to brighten up considerably. She then turned her attention to the two third-years. "Thank you for stepping in, _senpais_. We were in a pretty bad spot so it was a huge relief when you two came to our defence."

"It's a good thing we got here in time!" Ryouta commented with a victorious grin. "But I thought Shinichi was the only Masato targeted. How did you get involved, uh… wait, what was your name again? By the way, I'm Yamada Ryouta, and he's Oshiro Daisuke! Both of us are third-years."

"My name is Kirigaya Suguha, I'm in the same class as Nagata," Suguha introduced herself. "I thought something was strange when Masato approached Nagata out of the blue so I followed them here. I immediately intervened when he was getting harassed although in hindsight I probably should've gone and get help instead. Oh well, all's well that ends well."

"I'm glad you stopped me from punching Masato, things would've been messy if you didn't step in. Also, I appreciate you standing up for Shinichi, what you did was very brave," Daisuke thanked Suguha.

"I could say the same for you. You didn't even flinch when he grabbed you by the collar; not many people are capable of that."

"I, uh – erm, I'm usually not like… that," the four-eyed replied, blushing fiercely. He was feeling extremely self-conscious. Now that his anger had eviscerated and his adrenaline rush was over Daisuke had reverted back to his bashful, awkward self. "I-I don't know what came over me, really."

"Doesn't that make your actions even more impressive?" Suguha smiled encouragingly as she spoke.

"W-well, if you say so…"

"Oh, lunch break's going to end soon! We'd better head back. Shinichi, Kirigaya, be careful of Masato alright? If he tries anything again let us know and we'll do something about him. We're in class 3-A if you need us," Ryouta offered. Shinichi and Suguha thanked him before the four students returned to their respective classrooms.

Fortunately, Katowaki never bothered them again. A couple days later his misdeeds were exposed by one of his victims; one thing led to another, and he ended up transferring to a different school in shame. Although he was a big, bad bully, in a way he was quite pitiable. Insufferably high expectations had been placed on him by his teachers, fellow schoolmates and strict parents; he was never praised for his numerous achievements – which were wrongly taken for granted – but was harshly criticised even when his performance slipped in the slightest. Regrettably, he chose to relieve his immense stress by causing others pain. His circumstances were certainly undesirable but that did not justify his wanton abuse. After transferring schools, his previous admirers – students and teachers alike – zeroed in on his wrongdoings and decried his maltreatment, yet they were part of the problem to begin with. At any rate, Masato Katowaki's role in this story has come to an end so I shall dwell on him no longer.

Shinichi and Suguha hung out with Daisuke and his friends every now and then. The former had become closer to Daisuke and Ryouta after the bullying incident while the latter enjoyed the company of her upperclassmen; she thought of them as genuinely nice people who were also fun to talk to. Spending time with them was a good change of pace from her club members and classmates.

* * *

"Congratulations on qualifying for (kendo) Nationals, Kirigaya! You were amazing!"

"Oh, thanks! I didn't know you guys were watching the preliminaries," Suguha said in response to Akira's praise. Their school's kendo team was renowned throughout the country; the fact that Suguha was chosen to be a member of that five-man squad was a testament to her boundless potential. The friendly, optimistic girl was well-liked so the seniors in the club were not resentful that an underclassman made the team when they failed to.

With the end of July rapidly approaching, the trio of Daisuke, Ryouta and Akira, as well as Shinichi and Suguha decided to spend some time together before summer break began. Although Ryouta and Daisuke had no tangible plans for the summer, the Nagata household was planning to go abroad for the holidays and Suguha had her hands full with the upcoming kendo tournament.

"Daisuke was really passionate about us coming to cheer you on!" Ryouta said, absentmindedly exposing his friend in the process. Daisuke inwardly swore at his friend for his lack of tact.

"Man, I'm envious that you guys are going to Europe for the holidays!" Daisuke said to Akira and Shinichi in a desperate attempt to change the conversation topic. "On the other hand, my summer plans completely fell through. Ain't that right, Ryouta?"

"We really got shit luck, don't we! All of that anticipation was for nothing. Nothing I say, nothing!" Ryouta exclaimed dispiritedly. Noticing that his friend was looking at the third-year with a puzzled expression, Shinichi decided to explain things to Suguha.

"Um, Sugu – I, I mean Kirigaya (Shinichi faltered under her glare). Have you heard about a VR game called Sword Art Online?"

"Yup, my brother spoke a lot about it. Isn't there a beta test next month?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised you know about that. Well, Ryouta and Daisuke applied for it but neither of them got accepted into the beta test," Shinichi explained.

"That's unfortunate. Oh yeah, speaking of SAO, this happened quite some time ago but one of the game developers actually came to our school," Suguha recounted.

…

"WHAT!?"

Suguha was not expecting the four males to react so strongly to what she just said.

"Why are we unaware of this!? We need details now!" Akira demanded.

"Actually I don't think anyone else knew who he was. _Sensei_ told us that he was a guest who would watch us train so we kind of just ignored him. After practice he singled me out for an interview and introduced himself as a game developer. Apparently his boss was thinking about incorporating kendo techniques into the game so he was sent to do some research."

"Woah… that's so cool! Now I'm even more impatient. I just wish it'd be November already!" Ryouta complained. Daisuke silently agreed with his friend. Virtual reality had fascinated him greatly even when he was a child, and SAO was created using cutting edge technogoly. Needless to say, he was very excited about trying out the world's first VRMMO.

Summer break was excruciatingly dull. Aside from suffering through _juku_ , Daisuke spent much of August in boredom alongside Ryouta. Both teenagers were rather envious of the one thousand people who were lucky enough to be selected as beta testers. Shinichi and Akira were enjoying themselves abroad but thankfully Suguha was eventually available to relieve them of their ennui. Speaking of the girl, her team managed to advance to the finals of the kendo Nationals but unfortunately fell short. She was understandably upset with the tough loss.

The kendo practitioner may have been unaware of it, but Daisuke was very grateful to Suguha as she had been a hugely positive influence on the four-eyed teen. Her optimism was contagious: even a simple 'good morning/afternoon!' when they passed by each other was enough to lift his spirits. More importantly, Suguha encouraged him to overcome his insecurities. You see, the fear of rejection was the reason behind Daisuke's discomfort towards those he was unfamiliar with: he was afraid that others would dislike him for who he was, and so he was afraid to try to know people better. It wasn't as if there was a particular reason for anyone to hate him, Daisuke just didn't have a very high opinion of himself. Perhaps the reason why he struggled to make friends was because he was subconsciously distancing himself from those around him.

"Don't take this the wrong way Kirigaya, but why do you bother spending time with someone like me? Surely hanging out with your friends would be more enjoyable?" Daisuke didn't actually intend to ask her that question. They happened to be alone one day, and the words slipped out before he could stop himself. Suguha looked at him strangely before she spoke.

"I don't know why you would say something like that but you should have more confidence in yourself. You're a brilliant person, and anyone who thinks otherwise is not worth your time." There was no hesitation in her voice whatsoever; in fact, Suguha even seemed a bit offended that Daisuke would think of himself in such a negative manner.

"T-t-thanks," Daisuke stammered as his face turned red. Part of him was afraid that Suguha would react badly to his unintended query so the genuine, supportive reply caught him off guard. He was a little embarrassed but also very, very happy.

Sometimes all it takes for people to believe in themselves is a little encouragement from those around them.

November eventually arrived. Daisuke, Akira, Ryouta and Shinichi waited impatiently in a long queue to buy their own copies of SAO. In the end, Daisuke actually managed to acquire the last copy of the game; his friends literally just missed out. Having secured the highly anticipated VRMMO, Daisuke immediately rushed home. He was thrilled to test out the game and was partly fearful that some disgruntled person who had been vainly waiting in line would try to steal his copy of the game.

"Guys, just give me one day. I'll lend you the game tomorrow," Daisuke promised. That brightened up his friends' moods. They bid the newly dubbed 'luckiest man in Japan' farewell, allowing him the chance to enjoy the long awaited game.

Daisuke removed two of his eyes and closed the other pair before putting on his NerveGear.

"Link start!"

And then Dillon came to life.

* * *

The refreshing scent of unpolluted air. An unending, chaotic chorus of voices. A fortress town full of people, all of them wearing smiling faces. Clouds sauntered in the bright, blue sky above. A downward glance revealed fingerless leather gloves wrapped around his hands – not too tightly, not too loosely.

The clacking of boots against flagstone. The rough texture of brick walls.

Weapons of different shapes and sizes available for sale. An eye-patch wearing storekeeper animatedly conversing (or haggling?) with a skeptical customer. The crisp, mouthwatering aroma of bread from a bakery nearby.

Quicker, louder footsteps.

A dirt path extending beyond the walls of the Town of Beginnings to who-knows-where. Lush, green fields stretching as far as the eye could see. The fresh fragrance of flora, reminiscent of the countryside. The whisper of a blade being drawn. The Bronze Sword in his hands was heavier than anticipated.

A deep breath to calm down a rapidly beating heart…

Then a vigorous war-cry as an exuberant purple-haired teen threw himself at a Frenzy Boar.

The unparalleled joy of unleashing a Sword Skill.

This world wasn't what Dillon expected; it was far more magnificent than his wildest imaginations. Then he was suddenly teleported into the town square along with everyone else, and his whole world came crashing down.

Dillon spent the remainder of the first day cooped up in an inn room trying to come to terms with everything that happened. He was too shocked, too distressed to do anything productive. Despite its inevitability, Dillon had always thought of dying as something abstract and distant; yet for the first time in his life, the hands of death were actually within reach. He went to bed without the faintest idea about what to do next, and did not fall asleep until way past midnight.

The next day, Dillon woke up disappointed. A part of him had futilely hoped that the death game was nothing more than a nightmare; sadly, for him and the thousands of other trapped players that wasn't the case. He thought long and hard about his circumstances, and he decided to wait for a day before taking action; surely twenty-four hours were more than enough time for the government to thwart the absurd schemes of a mad scientist? If the players were not set free by the following morning, Dillon would take matters into his own hands and do as Kayaba Akihiko suggested (beat the game). In the meantime, Dillon looked through the multi-layered game menu, studying the game mechanics in great detail so as to equip himself with the necessary knowledge for survival in case the government proved to be incompetent.

Dillon left his room in the evening when he couldn't bear his hunger any longer. As he was walking around the Town of Beginnings, he ran into what could only be described as a despondent, devastated man on the verge of going insane.

"…Ah…ha ha… it's over. I-I tried to stop them, but they never listened… ha ha…" Dillon had no intention to approach the man, but accidental eye-contact prompted the stranger to totter towards him. He could have outrun the despairing man, yet for some reason, Dillon found his legs rooted to the ground.

"H-h-hey you. You know what I'm t-t-t-talking about, don't you?" The anonymous man slurred as he pointed a shaky finger at Dillon.

"Uh… sorry, I don't have a clue," Dillon replied after a brief moment's hesitation. He was daunted by the unstable (both physically and mentally) stranger before him, and was trying his best to stay calm. Having heard his answer, the dispirited man's eyes widened and pointed behind him.

"T-t-those cliffs over there. All those p-p-people, they were j-j-jumped off those cliffs over there! I… I warned them! I told them that they'd die! I… hahaha, I begged them to stop! They never listened to me, they just killed themselves! I heard every single one of their bodies s-s-shatter into p-p-pieces! E-e-even him! He… I thought he trusted me! But he jumped! He killed himself! He… AAARRRGGGHHH! STOP IT, STOP IT! I don't want to hear that cracking anymore! It hurts! IT HURTS!"

Dillon froze. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to escape to somewhere far, far away from this unreasonable, deadly world. Both actions were unfortunately unavailable to him. Suicide was no foreign concept to Dillon but knowing that a mass suicide had occurred nearby caused him to freak out.

According to a certain reliable source, there were more than a hundred people who jumped to their deaths within the first two days.

The shocked teen broke out of his stupor when the despairing man spoke again.

"Aha… t-t-there's no point anymore. I s-shouldn't have come back here. I should've j-jumped. I should've gone with them. Hehe… I'll do that. Yes, yes, that's what I'll do… wait for brother, I'm coming. I'll be with you soon."

"No! You can't do that! You have to live!" Dillon urged frantically.

"Just let me go, please. The agony, it's too much to bear…" The expression on the man's face was foreign to Dillon. Mixed in with the weariness was an element of uncaring, a sense of abandonment. This was the first time Dillon saw the face of a person who had given up on life.

"Listen to me! Dying won't change anything, it won't bring anyone back to life. You have to be strong and live on –"

"Shut up, SHUT UP! Y-y-y-you don't fucking understand how much I'm suffering! I want to die – I NEED to die! T-t-that shattering sound, I'll never be at peace because of that damn shattering! If you stop me, I'll fucking kill you!" The suicidal man brandished a sword and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Perhaps he would've recalled the fact that they were inside a safe zone if he were a little calmer. Perhaps his persistence would've won out in the end if he had stood his ground, but we will never know the truth of that imaginary scenario. The anguished man's sudden hostility and the crazed gleam in his eyes frightened the already unnerved Dillon out of his mind. He ran away as quickly as his legs could carry him, retreating to the safety of his inn room.

Sick, scared and all alone, Dillon cried himself to sleep that night.

As he feared, help from the outside didn't come on the third day (or on the fourth, or on the fifth, or on the sixth…). After much procrastination, he eventually forced himself out of his room. Though Dillon was absolutely afraid of dying, he knew that facing the crazed GM's challenge head on was the only way he was getting back to the real world. Better to do something about the problem at hand than sitting around fearing it.

One does not simply clear a VRMMO as a solo player – that much was common knowledge to gamers. It was crucial to enlist the aid of others; Dillon reasoned that there might be other like-minded players grinding near the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings, thinking about fighting their way to the top. To his delight, he was right. Upon reaching the boundaries of the safe zone, Dillon saw different groups of players battling the boar monsters scattered around the lush, green fields. He silently watched them, not sure which to approach. Dillon zeroed in on the two parties closest to him. One was a team of six men. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like the man with a red bandana was the leader. The other party was a group of three consisting of a handsome man in his mid-twenties who used a sword, a rather attractive lady of similar age whose weapon was a dagger, and a fairly short axe-wielder who looked younger than his two allies.

In the end Dillon went for the smaller group. Although there was strength/safety in numbers, he felt that there was a higher probability of the three-man party accepting him. After all, the addition of an extra player meant much more to a three-man group than to a seven-man one. He figured that it wouldn't be too much of a problem if they rejected him; he'd simply move on to another group, and then to another group until someone accepted him.

"Sure, we'd be glad to have you!" The leader of the three-man party said amicably as he shook the teen's hand. "What's your name?"

"Oh, my name's Dillon. It's nice to meet you all."

"I'm Darcy! This is Elizabeth, and that's Akroor! The three of us are acquaintances in the real world."

"To be specific, Darcy's my fiancé and Akroor's a friend we've known for ages," Elizabeth added as she linked hands with Darcy (ah I'm so jealous). "I look forward to working with you, Dillon."

"Being a third wheel to this stupid couple all alone is excruciating so I look forward to you sharing my misery!" Akroor told Dillon with a mischievous grin. "Well then, we'll be counting on you, so you can count on us too!"

* * *

Dillon quickly discovered that fighting side by side in a death game was actually a good bonding activity; it wasn't long before he grew close to his party members, and vice versa. The four of them got along swimmingly and rarely quarrelled; even when they did, the arguments would be resolved quickly without any lingering resentment between them. Dillon liked his teammates and considered himself fortunate to have met them.

Though there was that one time he walked in on Darcy and Elizabeth making out. Blushing furiously, he ran out of the room screaming for brain bleach.

More than a month had gone by since the start of the death game. The success of the Illfang raid which Dillon's party had participated in was hugely motivating, though he had already grown accustomed to life in SAO way before Floor 1 was cleared; the day he decided to dye his black hair purple and change his brown eyes to a lighter shade of violet (he didn't bother getting a pair of glasses) was the day he came to the realisation that he had gotten comfortable with living in the floating castle. After all, would a person who had yet to adjust to the death game concern themselves with something like fashion?

At the moment his party was in a settlement on Floor 2 known as Albee Village, waiting for a certain someone to show up. Darcy and Elizabeth were discussing some random subject while Akroor was busy sorting out his inventory. Dillon didn't wish to disturb the latter, and the couple jumped from one topic to another too quickly for him to bother keeping up with their conversation. Thus he opted to just lean back and daydream.

He found himself thinking about those in the real world. Had the government given up on trying to free the SAO victims, or were they still trying? Did the foreign countries provide aid, or did they simply watch from the sidelines like curious bystanders? The fact that the players were still alive at least suggested that their real bodies were being taken care of, but preserving the players' comatose bodies might be the best those on the 'other side' could do. Dillon's thoughts then drifted towards the people he cared about. Were his parents alright? Dillon was glad that he wasn't an only child; at least his sister was there to comfort and support them. He was glad that Akira, Ryouta and Shinichi failed to acquire their own copies of SAO. Thinking back, it was ironic that they gave him the nickname of 'luckiest man in Japan'; it would only be appropriate, Dillon thought, to refer to them as the 'three lucky men' for barely missing out on the death game when he returned to the real world. If he returned. Suguha... a grin formed on his lips as he thought about her. He really missed her optimism, and he had yet to properly thank her for her encouragement; that was one more reason for the teen to try his damned hardest escape from Aincrad.

"What're you thinking about?" Akroor's voice snapped Dillon out of his thoughts.

"I was... it's nothing much." He thought it might've been insensitive to mention the real world.

"Out with it, Dillon. You were thinking about the 'other side', weren't you?" Akroor spoke with a knowing expression.

Oops. Busted.

"You got me," Dillon confessed with a sigh.

"Wanna talk about it? I don't actually know much about you so I'd love to learn about your friends and family." Dillon could see that his friend was genuinely interested, and he had nothing to hide from Akroor so he began talking about those he was close to. In return Akroor spoke about the people in the real world who he cared about.

"Kirigaya Suguha, huh? That's a nice name. So, is she your girlfriend?" Akroor asked with a smirk.

"What!? N-n-n-no, we aren't like that!" Dillon exclaimed, his face beet red. His strong reaction to Akroor's teasing words had caused Elizabeth and Darcy to cease their chatter. The couple shifted their attention to their teammates, listening in on their conversation.

"But do you like her? And when I say like, I mean it in the way Darcy and Elizabeth like each other."

"Well... yes, I do," Dillon answered shyly, rubbing his heated neck in embarrassment. He had a crush on the girl for quite a while, though he never thought about acting on his feelings. Even if she miraculously shared his sentiments, sustaining a relationship with her would be difficult due to the fact that he would be attending senior high the following year. He had always appreciated her friendliness, her uplifting presence, her impeccable body...

Dillon shook his head to free himself of any unnecessary thoughts.

"Nyahaha... I'd hate to break up this interestin' conversation but we've all got places to be and things to do!" The sudden, mirthful voice startled Dillon's party. The speaker was some sort of midget rat creature with an ego thrice the size of its tiny body (that description wasn't biased whatsoever). Poor Dillon was mortified; the last thing he wanted was for an informant, of all people, to overhear what he said.

"Hi, Argo. It's good to see you again."

"Hi yerself, Darcy. Lemme guess, ya want info 'bout the nearby settlements?"

"Yes, as usual," the party leader replied. Darcy was a very careful individual – perhaps a little too cautious at times – who never acted without sufficient information. He wasn't an outstanding combatant, and the same could be said for his teammates, but his constant preparedness was one of the main reasons why his party had lasted for so long. After receiving payment, Argo began revealing the information her customers wanted.

"… As fer Ivita Town, there's a Field Boss nearby called the Mutant Wind Wasp. It ain't a compulsory enemy but in case ya want to fight it fer some extra Exp and drops, I'd recommend scrapin' together a raid team of eight to ten people. I can tell ya 'bout the Mutant Wind Wasp's attack patterns and weaknesses but I'll have to charge ya extra."

"Okay, that's a fair trade," Darcy said as he transferred Argo an additional amount of Cor. Having told him all she knew about the boss, lil' miss mousey scurried off to her next business transaction. As he watched Argo leave, Dillon had no idea that the fateful day of parting was close at hand.

After reaching Ivita Town, the four of them agreed to take on the Mutant Wind Wasp and teamed up with a party of five who were also aiming to defeat the Field Boss.

The diabolical, gargantuan wasp was among the toughest opponents they had faced thus far, second only to Illfang. The nine of them struggled to deal with the creature's high speed, and would've had an even harder time if not for the information Darcy had bought from Argo (information which their allied party had gained through the same means). Nevertheless, the Field Boss raid party suffered no casualties and was still going strong by the time one of the monster's two life bars was completely diminished.

To say that nobody was expecting what happened next was an understatement.

One of the players from the other team – a spear-user who was more or less Dillon's age – failed to adapt to the Mutant Wind Wasp's increased speed in its second phase. The horrifying creature sank its teeth into him so that the upper half of his body was stuck inside the wasp's large mouth while the lower half dangled outside helplessly. He shattered into fragments before anyone could free him.

The rest of his teammates flew into a frenzied rage. They assaulted the Field Boss without paying heed to their own safety; all they cared about was avenging their fallen friend and tearing the Mutant Wind Wasp into bloody pieces. Dillon could only watch in stunned silence. Darcy, Elizabeth and Akroor screamed at them to retreat but their words fell on deaf ears.

The Field Boss impaled one of its attackers with its deadly stinger. He too was sent to the afterlife.

"Shit, we have to save them!" Akroor yelled as he recklessly charged forward to assist the remnants of the allied party. The death of yet another one of their friends only served to add fuel to the fire; the remaining three players were too hell-bent on revenge to rationally assess the situation.

"Wait, stop! Come back!"

"Akroor, no! That's too dangerous!"

"Don't do it, Akroor! We need to get out of here!"

Darcy knew that the battle was hopeless. The right move would've been to retreat, but Akroor refused to abandon their allies, and Darcy was unable to abandon him. Therefore he moved to attack the Field Boss, Dillon and Elizabeth following behind him.

The Mutant Wind Wasp claimed yet another life with its sharp fangs. A third of the nine-man party was wiped out.

Despite their best efforts, another player fell prey to the monstrous teeth of the Field Boss. To begin with, there was little Dillon and his teammates could've done; even the greatest fighters were powerless to protect someone who, with no regard for their own life, mindlessly threw themselves at a boss-level monster. There was only one player from the other party left, and Akroor was unwilling to abandon the sole survivor.

"Akroor, we have to go! NOW!" Darcy shouted. His friend didn't even spare him a glance. With a heavy heart, the party leader made the most painful decision of his life.

"Elizabeth, Dillon! We're running!" He answered their shocked, horrified looks with a resolute yet pained expression. It took the man all of his willpower to hold back his tears.

"... FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" Dillon screamed in despair. If there was one thing the purple-haired teen prided himself on, it was his loyalty. However, he knew full well that loyalty was no excuse for him to throw away his life meaninglessly. Darcy, Elizabeth and Dillon fled for their lives. None of them dared to look back: they couldn't bear to see the Field Boss kill their friend, nor could they bear to see the expression Akroor made at their betrayal.

Two loud cracks told them all they needed to know. The kind yet foolish axe-wielder refused to give up on saving anyone, and as a result gave up on his life.

With its mouth agape, the Mutant Wind Wasp sped at the escaping trio at breakneck speed. Knowing that further sacrifices had to be made, Darcy intercepted the creature with a well-timed Sonic Leap, stunning it.

"GET OUT OF HERE! I'LL BUY YOU TIME!" Those were Darcy's last words as he took his valiant last stand.

Dillon had to manhandle Elizabeth as she refused to leave Darcy to die. She violently resisted his attempts to drag her away; even with his higher STR stats, Dillon struggled to move the desperate woman. Watching as Darcy was defeated and crumbled into nothingness, Elizabeth let out a grieved cry and stabbed herself in the neck, taking her own life. She died in the purple-haired teen's arms. Dillon was so traumatised that he lost track of reality; the boss gave him a rude awakening by smacking him to the ground.

"AAAAHHHHH! NOOOOO!"

Fear rooted Dillon to the spot. He couldn't move, couldn't defend himself, couldn't do anything as the Mutant Wind Wasp hovered above him, drool dripping out of its giant mouth.

Everything that happened next was a blur. Something slammed into the Field Boss, evoking a painful screech from the gigantic creature. Then there was a lot of yelling, and someone pulled him up by the arm while telling him to flee. Dillon fell flat on his face and had to be hauled away from the battlefield because of his trembling, dysfunctional legs.

The purple-haired victim was immediately fed a Health Potion after being removed from the Mutant Wind Wasp's field of activity. Normally he would recoil from its foul taste but this time consuming the medicinal fluid didn't cause him to react in the slightest. It was only at this point did the shaken teen manage to take in his saviour's appearance. He was a tall (and very, very, very good-looking) teenager with shoulder-length grey hair and dark, grey eyes full of concern. He wore an armour made of leather and had a dagger strapped to his waist.

After a nerve-wrecking close call with a Battering Bull that happened to spawn nearby, the three players who saved Dillon brought him back to Ivita Town. The shock and fear had worn off, and all that remained was grief. Once he was alone in his room Dillon cried uncontrollably. He wept for the party leader who sacrificed himself, for the woman who died in his arms, for the benevolent but imprudent friend whom he betrayed.

* * *

 **A/N: This isn't a self-insert, so the 'I' in the story and the 'I' in the author's notes can be considered separate entities. LOL may be my creation but his personality and** **background are not representative of my own. Similarly, his thoughts are not necessarily indicative of mine. With that said, some of the things I wrote in the first paragraph are my (the author's) genuine feelings.**

 **I really am grateful to the people who read this story (even though writing can really be excruciating at times), especially those who followed, favourited or reviewed it. Special mention to _NetherOrbit_ and _Fireheart Feyre_ for not only providing me with great advice but also for creating OCs who enhance this story. _NetherOrbit_ is responsible for creating Daisuke/Dillon and naming Akroor. As for _Fireheart Feyre_ , their OC hasn't officially been introduced but has made cameos in certain chapters.**

 **No omake this time. In a way this chapter already is one giant omake, and the same could be said for the next chapter.**

 **Normally I'd tell you to check the profile page for updated info on the OCs, but this is a flashback episode of sorts so none of the information's changed. I've made some progress on the next chapter so it should come out relatively soon (unless something interrupts my writing, and I'm normally quite unlucky).**


	11. Interlude: Fall and Rise (2 of 2)

Interlude 1 – Fall and Rise (2/2)

His party members were not all he lost in the failed boss raid. Dillon was so traumatised by the death of his friends and allies that he could no longer pick up a weapon without suffering a severe panic attack. He would equip his sword and shield only to go weak at the knees and collapse onto the ground, shivering and hyperventilating.

Two days after his team's crushing defeat at the hands (fangs and stinger) of the Mutant Wind Wasp, the three players who saved Dillon escorted him to a settlement known as the Deserted Town of Ashes. It would be too risky for him to join them in his traumatised state, and it made more sense to bring him to an area with a teleport gate rather than leaving him in a safe zone in the middle of nowhere. The journey wasn't a smooth one, particularly because Dillon was unable to partake in any fighting and had to be protected the entire time, thought they managed to reach their destination after two days of hard work. As he watched his saviours set off for the Floor 2 labyrinth, the purple-haired teen grimly noted that he was all alone again, just as he had been during the first days of the death game. With a dejected sigh he retreated to his room.

"...Damn it!"

Despite racking his brains for the last hour or so, Dillon failed to come up with half a decent idea about his future actions. There was little a non-combatant could do in a hack-and-slash game. Although support skills which didn't directly involve battling mobs (e.g. Cooking, Tailoring, Blacksmithing and Mixing) existed, they were all dependent on the acquisition of raw materials through hunting specific monsters; it would be impossible for Dillon to make a living as an artisan or a chef unless he had some kind of supplier, and he certainly didn't know anyone who fit that description.

He had never felt like such a worthless burden before in his entire life, and the feeling infuriated him to no end. He didn't betray Akroor just to waste his salvaged life in idleness. Darcy hadn't sacrificed himself so that he could rot away in some safe zone meaninglessly.

Dillon spent some more time being mad at his uselessness before coming to the conclusion that he desperately needed advice. When it came to counsel, there was one person who was always a reliable option, and Dillon knew that he had saved up enough Cor to afford her services. He flicked open the player menu, clicked a few buttons and began typing. Argo's reply, which came within seconds after his message was sent, said that she'd meet him by the teleport gate in half an hour's time.

Not having anything better to do, Dillon absentmindedly watched the town's few NPCs who were hard at work. The reason why the area was known as the Deserted Town of Ashes was because it had been destroyed by a great fire. Most of its former inhabitants began new lives elsewhere, though a small number of stubborn locals were determined to restore the wrecked settlement to its former glory (that was what the chatty NPCs said).

"Hey there."

True to her word, Argo emerged from a portal thirty minutes later. While he had met the info broker multiple times in the past, his late party leader was the one who spoke (negotiated) with her on every occasion so this was the first time Dillon and Argo actually talked. It was also the first time he saw the girl without her usual cheery smile.

"Hi Arg –" The informant abruptly cut off his greeting by placing a hand on his shoulder. Dillon flinched, not because he found the sudden physical contact discomforting but because the unexpected gesture caught him off guard.

"My condolences, Dillon. Darcy, Elizabeth and Akroor were good people. I'm glad ya survived."

"…Thank you." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. The teenager was grateful that someone else remembered and mourned his fallen teammates. Argo retracted her hand from his shoulder before continuing.

"Now then, how can I help ya? Take as long as ya need, I've got time." Dillon took a deep breath to steady himself as well as organise his thoughts.

"I want to know if there's anything I can do as a non-combatant. It's pathetic but ever since that day I haven't been able to hold my weapons and not freak out."

"Hmm…" Argo pondered his question briefly. "It's not like yer completely useless right now but there's a huge limit to what ya can do. Battlin' on the front lines' the most effective 'n efficient way of clearin' the game, and most of the support skills involve doin' stuff outside the safe zones. Sorry, but that's just how SAO works – there's no two ways 'bout it."

"That's fine with me. I just want to do everything I can to help."

"Aight, then I'll tell ya somethin' ya might find useful. There's this organisation on Floor 1, MMO Today which is run by someone called Thinker. They do a bunch of stuff to help other players, some of which don't involve any fightin' whatsoever; I'm sure they'd appreciate havin' ya around."

"MMO Today… isn't that the name of that really popular information site for online games?"

"Yup, apparently the admins of that website are the ones in charge of the group on Floor 1, though it ain't really matter if they're the real deal or not if ya ask me. Do ya want me to let Thinker know that ya'd like to meet 'em?"

"Yes please, that'd be very helpful."

"…Done. He normally replies real quickly so I'll let ya know when he does." Dillon couldn't help but be impressed by Argo's rapid typing speed.

"Thank you for everything. How much do I pay you?"

"This one's on the house. Next time it'll be business as usual. Good luck, Dillon. Stay strong."

* * *

Had it only been a month since he last stood in the Town of Beginnings? It felt like a long time ago when he walked on those familiar flagstone streets.

"Roughly speaking, the players who fight can be split into two groups. There are the front liners who are trying to clear the game, and then there are those who started fighting because conditions in the Town of Beginnings took a turn for the worse."

"A turn for the worse? How so?"

"By the third week most of the players who were staying in the Town of Beginnings ran out of Cor. A lot of people were already disheartened because it was obvious by then that help from the outside wasn't coming, and it seemed like the front liners weren't making any progress at all; naturally, they took it badly when they began starving and were forced to sleep on the streets. Things were… very bad for a while. A lot of people just gave up and killed themselves. The suicide rate had gone down significantly after the first week but then it started rising quickly. Clearly we had to do something, so some of us took the risk of leaving the safe zone to gather food for the people. As the days passed by, the foragers ended up banding together, and MMO Today was formed."

Feeding the hungry… that was exactly what Dillon and his new 'boss' were doing at the moment. The two males were walking around the Town of Beginnings while distributing food among as many people as possible. Thinker was a man in his late twenties with wavy, umber-brown hair, brown eyes and wore an armband with the letters MMO on it; incidentally, Dillon too sported the same armband.

"Of course, feeding every single person in the Town of Beginnings is impossible for now. Regardless, all we can do is try our best. We've been receiving an increasing number of donations from the front liners which is quite encouraging. All of us SAO players are victims of Kayaba Akihiko's madness so we need to stick together and help one another."

Dillon decided that he quite liked the man. Thinker wasn't an outright extroverted person like Ryouta or Akroor but he was nevertheless sociable and friendly. Moreover, he gave off a uniquely charismatic aura of gentleness; it was not surprising why the kind man was chosen to be one of the organisation's leaders.

Life as an MMO Today member turned out to be fairly easy for Dillon. It was different from what he was used to and he wasn't particularly fond of the MMO Today armband, but working for the organisation was a way better alternative to doing nothing at all watching the days go by. Additionally, he did get two free meals a day (employee benefits, huh). Aside from having to run a few errands (deliver this, deliver that, buy this, this, this and that – using the group's funds, of course) he was pretty much free during the day; it was only in the evenings when things got busier.

Firstly, Dillon would meet up with the foragers and record the items they collected from the innumerable monsters they defeated. He would then take the prizes of the day's hunt to the NPC stores and sell them off (items of value would be placed in the MMO Today's storage instead). Afterwards he would deliver the newly acquired Cor to Thinker as the man was in charge of allocating the day's earnings: most of the cash would be spent on buying necessities for the other players in the Town of Beginnings, though some of it went to the organisation's members as they needed money to sustain their activities. Finally, Dillon would help give out resources to the town's non-combatants. Consumables were not the only articles that were apportioned; blankets were also handed out since most of the inhabitants lacked a roof over their heads.

One evening, as he prepared to reprise his role of Japanese Santa Claus, Dillon noticed that Thinker was nowhere to be found. Out of curiosity he asked about the man's whereabouts.

"Taka – no, Thinker is at a meeting with one of our… partners. He won't be joining us tonight." The person who answered Dillon was a tall woman whose long, silver hair was tied into a ponytail. She had sky-blue eyes and a sharp, well-featured face. This beautiful lady was Yulier, the organisation's co-leader alongside Thinker and also the lucky man's wife in the real world (I'm so, so, so friggin jealous).

"Oh, what kind of meeting is it?"

"I guess you could call it an information exchange. We keep them updated on our activities and expenditures; in return they provide us with a steady stream of supplies. We wouldn't have been able to provide for as many people if it weren't for their contributions."

"Yo! I'm back." Both Dillon and Yulier turned towards the direction where the voice came from. The speaker was a girl no older than twenty who had short, dandelion hair and sapphire blue eyes. Her expression was one of bored indifference. It seemed as if she was apathetic towards everything: nothing interested her, nothing fazed her. Dillon did not recognise the newcomer but Yulier lit up upon seeing her acquaintance.

"As always, it's a pleasure to see you. Dillon, meet Philia. She's a front line player who's also one of our most generous donors. Philia, this is Dillon. He joined us about a week ago."

"Nice to meet you." The monotonous greeting was accompanied with a quick nod towards him.

"L-likewise."

Dillon and the young woman ended up working together as a pair. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her: Philia acted and sounded like she didn't give a damn about anyone or anything, yet here she was on Floor 1 helping people of her own accord. Yulier also mentioned that Philia gifted much of her resources to the organisation, so that meant she cared... right?

"I wasn't expecting to see another front liner down here doing charity work. Most players would be too tired to bother," Philia commented.

"Huh? Oh, no, you're mistaken. I'm not a fighter."

"Then why do you wear combat boots that are only sold in Urbus (Floor 2 main settlement)?"

"That's because I used to be in a front line party. We… disbanded, and now I don't fight anymore."

"Looks like you've been through a lot."

"…Yeah, you can say that." An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Dillon distracted himself by focusing on passing out food and blankets to the other players. Thankfully his partner chose not to question him any further, as the boy wasn't keen to bring up his deceased teammates. Not a single word was exchanged between them until Dillon had handed out the last piece of bread in his inventory.

"Philia, I've run out."

"Same here. Oh well, time to call it a day."

The players who received nothing were dismayed upon hearing the teens' words, though they didn't complain as they were not foolish or ungrateful enough to bite the hands that fed them. One unhappy player, however, chose to behave differently.

"Hold up! Are you just gonna let us starve!? I know for sure that you guys have more food!" The furious player stood up and yelled while jabbing an accusing finger at the two. Perhaps he thought he could exploit Dillon and Philia, who looked younger than him, with a hostile attitude and loud words. Perhaps he was truly at his wits' end and lashed out at them consequently; one must remember that rationality is a frighteningly fragile thing that can be easily broken apart by desperation – something which was unfortunately abundant in the death game.

"I'm sorry that you missed out but we really don't have enough to feed everyone," Dillon told the anonymous player in an attempt to placate him.

"Cut the crap! You're just keeping the food to yourselves, you dirty hoarders!"

"You're being delirious. Would 'dirty hoarders' care about coming here to share their food?" Philia challenged in that uncaring tone which was characteristic of her.

"Screw you, you greedy, lying bitch!"

Philia was slapped across the face.

She chuckled.

Yes, the young lady actually chuckled. Dillon would have – was about to – retaliate on her behalf but was far too surprised by her reaction to act. He had thought his stoic response to Masato grabbing him by the collar was strange; that was nothing compared to what he just witnessed.

In one fluid motion Philia brutally drove her fist into the indignant player's jaw. The mean uppercut lifted him off the ground; he was suspended in mid-air for a brief second… then he fell. The way his head bounced off the flagstone caused Dillon and a few others to wince.

"Bitch, sit down. Be humble. We risk our lives to feed you so stop acting like an entitled brat." Any trace of satisfaction from Philia's face was gone; she was back to being her usual bored self.

"I-I just want some food. I haven't eaten anything in the last two days," the floored player whimpered.

"You're not the only one." Those were her parting words.

…

"Hey, why did you look happy after that guy hit you?" Dillon couldn't resist asking Philia as they walked back. He did not take issue with her decision of responding to violence with greater violence, but he failed to comprehend the emotion she displayed at that moment.

"He gave me a much-needed excuse to vent," came the indifferent reply. The purple-haired teen didn't know how to respond so he opted to just stay silent.

* * *

"Are you sure it's fine for you to be here?"

"Why not? I come by all the time."

"You know what I meant. The Floor Boss raid is tomorrow so shouldn't you be preparing for it or resting up tonight instead?" Dillon eyed Philia as he spoke. Surely she must have felt some degree of worry beneath her bored, impassive exterior? The Illfang raid was a matter of the past, yet even now the purple-haired teen clearly recalled his fear and anxiety back then.

"I've already done everything I can. Besides, this might be the last night of my life so I'd rather spend it doing something more meaningful than trying to fall asleep." Despite the ongoing conversation the two teenagers continued to hand out supplies at an impressive speed.

"… Good luck."

"I'll definitely need it. Hey, have you thought about returning to the front lines?"

"Honestly, I don't know if I can ever fight again, but… part of me hasn't given up on it yet," Dillon answered. Stepping onto the battlefield was still an impossibility for the boy; the trauma of that day haunted him too deeply.

"I see. Dillon, if you ever decide to come back, I will gladly do anything I can to help you – so long as you don't give up on yourself first." The offer was certainly unexpected, but what really surprised him was Philia's earnest expression and the sincerity in her voice. She had spoken about the boss fight and her potential death so nonchalantly, yet she talked about helping someone she barely knew with so much emotion… the more Dillon interacted with the front liner, the less he understood about her. Regardless, it was clear that Philia's desire to aid him was unfeigned.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." His words were as genuine as hers.

The next day, every single person in the Town of Beginnings gathered in the streets to watch the live feed of the Floor Boss raid. Although he was not a participant in the upcoming battle, Dillon was extremely nervous as he watched the large, rectangular livestream screens hanging in mid-air.

Led by Diavel, the raid party stormed into the boss room and were greeted by a pair of gigantic, muscular creatures: the blue-skinned bull on the left was Nato the Colonel Taurus while the larger, crimson beast on the right was Baran the General Taurus. Each of them wielded an enormous battle hammer the size of a building.

The raid party immediately split into three. One group (team A) met Nato's charge head-on while another (team B) faced off against Baran. The third squad (team C) – much to the spectators' incomprehension – simply remained on standby.

It was only half-way into the intense fight when Dillon managed to find the four players on the raid party whom he was acquainted with. Asuna aggressively landed quick blows on Nato, while Lisbeth and the grey-haired teen worked together to defend against Baran's blows. Philia was among the players who were on standby (that role kinda suits her given her personality).

The audience began celebrating upon Nato's death but their gleeful cheers were quickly replaced with horrified gasps. Without warning, a monstrous six-horned creature appeared in the middle of the boss room. This was Asterius the Taurus King, the true villain of Floor 2.

Fortunately, the raid party was not caught off guard as the monster's ambush was an anticipated event. No longer remaining on the sidelines, team C quickly advanced towards Asterius, allowing team A time to regroup after defeating Nato. While the former group did their best to stall for time with evasive, well-coordianted movements, the latter team assisted in taking out Baran; with both sub-bosses out of the picture, the entirety of the raid party swiftly converged on the deadly Floor Boss like million moths to a bright flame.

Dillon watched with bated breath as the raid party cautiously and expertly chipped away at Asterius' six HP bars. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when the boss unleashed a mighty breath attack that blasted many fighters away, the potent attack paralysing each of the players it hit. Displaying admirable collectedness and integrity, the players kept their cool and continued fighting while covering for their stunned allies.

Power is vital but it is not absolute; even the strongest can fall before an alliance of inferiors; history has proven that time and time again. Asterius' gargantuan body, covered in countless injuries, slowly faded into nothingness. Yet another king succumbed to the army of mankind.

" **Attention: This is a system announcement. Floor 2 has been cleared. Casualties: zero."**

Jubilant cheers erupted from the tense crowd; Dillon almost collapsed onto his knees from sheer relief. For the rest of the day, the purple-haired teen failed to focus on anything as he could not tear his thoughts away from the ferocious battle. Even while he lay in his bed that night, scenes of the boss fight unceasingly replayed in his mind.

Asterius was no easy foe. The raid party was composed of the best players in the game, yet they were easily swept away by the Taurus King's brutal attacks. The people who he cared about, the people whom he owed a great debt were fighting at the forefront against such a lethal creature. And here he was, living a peaceful, riskless life inside the safe zone.

It felt wrong.

The players grew increasingly formidable as they ascended the tower – but so did their adversaries. If a Field Boss on Floor 2 could wipe out a raid party of nine fighters, imagine what the creatures on the higher floors were capable of…

Dillon shuddered. There was no way he could be content with his current lifestyle: there was far too much at stake, and the risks were only growing.

Anyone could pretty much ensure their safety either by remaining in the Town of Beginnings and relying on the MMO Today members for food, or by sticking to the less dangerous parts of Floor 1, never venturing to places beyond. However, if one hoped to hold onto something truly precious, the only option was to risk it all at the front lines; such were the rules of Aincrad.

Something truly precious… thinking back, the reason why Dillon fought in the first place was to take back what Kayaba had stolen from him. He placed his life on the line so that he could go back to the real world, to the days spent with friends who valued him and family who loved him. To think that the tragedy on Floor 2 had scarred him so deeply that he'd forgotten all about this.

No more.

Dillon swore that he would seek refuge in the Town of Beginnings no more. Traumas be damned.

With more vigour than he'd displayed in the last few days, Dillon kicked off his sheets, dressed himself and ran out of the inn. He didn't stop until he stood in the grasslands surrounding the walls of the Town of Beginnings. The last time he was outside a safe zone and fully armed was more than a week ago.

Playing solo was the riskiest thing one could do in SAO. There were plenty of mobs that spawned in packs and just as many that could inflict dangerous status effects like paralysation. Fighting alone was only feasible to the beta testers who were fully aware of the mob spawn rates and attack patterns, and even then an estimated 50% (at least) of solo players met a premature end outside the safe zones. Some deaths were solely the result of miscalculations; others were caused by changes that did not exist during the beta test.

On the other hand, one could hardly label Dillon's actions as reckless. His plan was to limit himself to areas in which only Frenzy Boars spawned. He was a level 10 player using equipment bought on the second floor; while the probability of dying to the weakest monster in the game wasn't zero, it was quite negligible.

He _knew_ that he needed this. Until this moment, he hadn't been so determined, so wanting to wield his weapons; if he turned back now, it was likely he would never work up the resolve to fight again.

Dillon targeted the mob nearest to him. The grip on his longsword and shield tightened. His pupils dilated, and his breathing became heavy. His heart was beating so quickly, so loudly.

 ***BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP***

" _Elizabeth, Dillon! We're running!"_

 ***BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP***

" _GET OUT OF HERE! I'LL BUY YOU TIME!"_

 ***BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP***

"AAAHHH!" With a feral scream Dillon rushed at his prey. The system took control of his body, and he cleaved through the monster in one clean strike.

"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah…" Allowing himself a brief moment of respite, Dillon sat down on the soft grass. His limbs trembled violently, and he was panting as if he had run an entire marathon though all he did was cut through a stationary target.

Dillon picked himself off the ground and took out a second mob, this time expending less (mental) energy. He then cut down the third one that spawned, ran through the fourth, sliced through the fifth, hacked the sixth into pieces… all without stopping. With each monster he destroyed his motions became sharper, his blows heavier; by the time his one-man rampage finally came to an end, a sizeable dent had been made in the Frenzy Boar population. Satisfied, Dillon staggered back to the inn.

* * *

Message log

 **You have one new message**

 _From: Philia_

 _Text: I read your message. It seems that you've made up your mind. I'll be helping out on Floor 1 tonight, we can talk then_

* * *

"Are you sure about this Dillon?"

"Yes. I've thought long and hard about it, and I decided that this is what I want to do." Thinker was aware of Dillon's tragic past; it pleased him to see that the teen had gotten over his trauma and willingly chose to rejoin the front line players.

"Hmm… it might be unsafe for you to fight on the higher floors after being inactive for so long. Ah, I know. Why don't you hunt with Yulier and I for today? I'm sure that'll serve as a good warmup for the tougher enemies on Floor 3." The good-natured man valued the wellbeing of his subordinates, and he wished to make certain that the boy before him was truly prepared for the deadlier parts of Aincrad.

"That's fair enough. I'll be in your care for now then," Dillon replied. He could use the practice; slaying the Frenzy Boars near the Town of Beginnings was a much-needed confident booster but the feeble mobs were hardly ideal for training.

With the co-leaders of MMO Today by his side, Dillon fought his heart out in the dim tunnels of the Floor 1 labyrinth. His performance was by no means stellar: his movements were still a little rusty from his 'retirement', and his stamina was not what it had been, yet there was no denying he possessed the resolve to fight at the forefront as part of the clearing party.

As the sun set, the three players made their way back to the Town of Beginnings. Dillon had forgotten the exhaustion of battling monsters for an entire day; he doubted that he had enough energy to serve the non-combatants in the evening.

"Thinker, Yulier, thank you for allowing me to be a part of MMO Today. It was nice working with you guys." Spending the last week or so helping the other players was far more preferable to wasting his time with unproductive self-loathing.

"We should be the ones thanking you, Dillon. Having you around made things much easier for everyone." The kind expression on the woman's face was matched by her husband's.

"Best of luck on the upper floors. We'll be rooting for you."

Thankfully Philia did show up that evening. Prior to her arrival Dillon had been impatiently glancing around trying to catch a glimpse of her; he had never been so happy to see the impassive female. Although he had thought of asking the three players who saved him about joining their party, he believed that he would not be much of an asset as he was under-levelled and out of practice; no, he would develop his skills as part of Philia's party first, then he would repay them for saving his life.

"You look tired. Have you been fighting?"

"Yea, I was in the Floor 1 labyrinth with Thinker and Yulier. Give me a day or two and I'll be up to par."

"Good to see that you're serious about coming back to the front lines. So, what's your level?"

"I'm level 11."

"Five levels below me… alright, I can work with that. I'll take you to see the rest of my party after we finish up here. If they refuse to let you join, I'll quit and form a two-man party with you. Sounds good?"

"Wait, you don't have to go that far!" Dillon was surprised by both the reply and its nonchalant delivery.

"I promised to do anything I can to help, didn't I? Well, considering how friendly Godfree is I'm sure he'll welcome you with open arms," Philia commented with a shrug. Dillon recognised the name she uttered, for the man was well-known for being one of the squad leaders of the Illfang raid. "Anyways, let's get a move on. There are hungry people waiting for us."

Philia told Dillon about her party as they went around dispensing their supplies. Having taken care of that, the two chatted with Thinker and Yulier briefly before heading towards the teleport gate. The next time Dillon set foot in Floor 1, he did so as a proud member of the Clearers.

 _Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail_.

* * *

 **A/N: Initially I intended for this story to be light-hearted for the most part with moments of seriousness and feels. However, I failed to properly convey the darkness and the despair of SAO in my earlier chapters so it felt good to make up for that mistake somewhat in this interlude.**

 **Originally Thinker and Yulier weren't meant to appear yet. I actually forgot they existed, but suddenly thought about them while writing the last chapter and decided to add them in. It was fun coming up with a larger role for them since they were rather unimpressive in the anime.**

 **Were you surprised by Philia's debut? For those who don't know her, Philia is a character from the SAO video games. Her OOC-ness in this fic is intentional: in the games she's cheerful and energetic but here she's pessimistic and lethargic. I'm normally very faithful to the characters' personalities but I came up with some ideas about Philia and couldn't resist making changes. Since she's so different that she's essentially a new character, I guess we can call her a semi-OC? Much of her behaviour may seem strange but will become clearer in the future.**

 **I hope you've been having fun with this story. Updated info of the OCs on profile page, and here's an omake to make up for this chapter's shorter length!**

* * *

Omake: Cheerleader in another world

"Hey there, I'm back again. How are you? It's almost been two months since the death game began, yet I remember that day just like it was yesterday. Yamada (Ryouta) and Nagata (Akira) are busy with entrance exams so they haven't been able to drop by but you are constantly on their minds. Nagata (Shinichi) came by earlier, didn't he? From what he told me, your family's doing well but they miss you.

I know that I've said this before but my brother's also trapped in SAO – matter of fact, I was visiting him before I came to see you. It'd be great if you two met up with each other and became allies. Well, it's probably unlikely for two complete strangers to become friends in an online game with thousands of other players but you never know, right?

I'm… fine, I guess. Nothing much has happened between this week and the last. Every day's pretty much the same: school in the morning, kendo in the late afternoon. You know, even now it's still… *sniff* really painful for me. Whenever I'm at home, I'm reminded that my brother's stuck inside some death game, fighting to stay alive. *Sniff* Not seeing you at school makes everything worse. Even so, I've been trying my hardest to stay strong and live life to the fullest.

Sorry, I shouldn't be winging. You guys are definitely having a way harder time compared to me. Do your best and stay strong, okay? Visiting hours are almost over. See you next week, Oshiro."

Suguha turned and walked out of the hospital room. It wasn't as if she expected anything she said to reach Daisuke or her dear brother, as the speaker was the only one you could hear her her own words. Rather, she spoke so as to release her emotions. Her friend had recommended the method, and she found it helpful.

Sometimes Suguha thought of herself as a mute cheerleader. No matter how enthusiastically she shouted and waved her pom-poms, her voice remained unheard. Little did she know, the mere memory of her was a key factor as to why the two males she had been rooting for were able to carry on despite the cruelty of the virtual world.


	12. Journeying with an elf

Ch.10 – Journeying with an elf

 _Oh, this is unusual. What is he doing here?_

Upon entering the beautiful stone church (orphanage) on Floor 1, my eyes fell on the bespectacled young man seated at a round, wooden table in the corner of the room. He wrote with the quill pen in his left hand while flipping through the pages of an open book with his right. A large pile of books was placed next to him; that explained the practically empty bookshelves on the other side of the room. It almost looked as if the beta tester was cramming for a test.

"You guys go ahead, I'm going to chat with him for a bit," I said while jabbing a thumb at Clausewitz, the player Argo referred to as her strategist. Silica and 21 gave me a quick nod before walking towards the kitchen where a mouth-watering scent was coming from; no doubt their surrogate mother was lovingly preparing yet another wholesome meal.

The duo's first day of combat was a resounding success. They were still going strong by the time the sun began to set, but I decided not to let them to stay out too late lest Sasha worry. I made my way towards my acquaintance, careful not to step on or bump into any of the other children in the process.

"Heya, Claws! What're you up to?"

My words fell on deaf ears. Working with the concentration of a bomb diffuser, Claws' gaze shifted between his manuscript and the book he consulted every few seconds. His quill pen moved from one side of the parchment to the other at lightning speed.

 _Wow, that's some superb penmanship. Seriously though, how focused do you have to be to completely shut out the rest of the world?_

"YO!"

That got his attention.

"Ah, good evening. I heard you were training Silica and 21?" Claws asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yup. They learn fast, from here on out they'll be fine without me."

"Excellent, Sasha will be delighted. She's been feeling rather restless." He snuck a quick glance at the kitchen. "Although she wasn't vocal about her thoughts, her tense body language did all the talking."

The possibility that the two children would grow confident and seek to challenge Aincrad's higher floors was the root of Sasha's disquietude. She knew she wouldn't be able to prevent them from trying to ascend the castle, just as she couldn't stop them from fighting in the first place; all she could do was anxiously brace herself and hope for the best. Truly, Silica and 21 were blessed to have met Sasha. She was related to them neither by blood nor by association, yet genuinely cared for them as if she really was their mother.

 _Every time I look at Sasha and the children, I'm reminded of my family…_

 _I miss them. I miss them so much, but it's my fault that I can't see them._

… _Damn it. Damn it all._

"I take it that you'll be returning to the front lines?" Claws' voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll be joining Kirito and Asuna tomorrow. Argo said that it won't be long before the boss room is found so I'll need all the help I can get levelling up before then." I once declared in public that I 'disliked' Kirito so as to appeal to Kibaou and Lind; apparently they had become less resentful of the Beater recently so I figured it would be fine to party with him. "So, why're you here? Taking a break from work?"

"As if I would have any time for rest. I'm here because I need the orphanage's large assortment of books for my research."

"Research for what?"

"I'm looking into the lore of SAO. There is a myriad of legends about Aincrad and its many denizens; investigating the game's rich, complex backstory may be crucial to clearing it."

"Oh, I see. It's possible that the lore might contain hints about the upper floors of Aincrad. Good thinking!"

"Thank you. I cannot think of SAO as a mere hack-and-slash game. Kayaba Akihiko is an extraordinary genius; I'm sure he must have included some kind of special twist somewhere along the way. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but the last thing we'd want to do is to underestimate the world created by this intelligent yet insane individual. That's why I want to do whatever I can to unravel Aincrad's secret, assuming it exists."

Whenever he felt anxious, indignant or sorrowful, Claws' expression would become rigid and unfeeling. As we spoke, the young man's countenance was devoid of emotion. The frosty, passionless visage was identical to the unemotional face he made while rebuking Diavel for his failures during the Floor 1 boss raid; it was clear that Claws was deeply concerned about what we were discussing.

I opened my mouth to respond –

*Smack*

Something struck me on the side of my head. Blinking rapidly out of surprise, I noticed a few of the children's fearful expressions and a leather ball rolling away from where I stood.

"Don't worry about it, stuff like that happens all the time!" I said with a gentle smile. That seemed to do the trick, as the children relaxed in response.

"Right, back to what I was going to say. Given how unpredictable… that man can be, what you said does make some sense. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Let me know if you come across anything peculiar and I'll look into it."

"Will do."

* * *

The creation of any human settlement invariably involves the depletion of natural resources. Trees are cut down for lumber, animals are hunted for their meat and pelt, minerals are excavated from the ground, and so on. However, the inhabitants of Floor 3 managed to found thriving settlements while keeping destruction of the natural environment to a minimum. Instead of modifying the landscape to suit their needs, the settlers adapted to the lay of the land to build their towns and cities; clearly these people held a deep respect for mother nature (she is beautiful but that lady has serious anger issues).

My destination was an inn located on the outskirts of Dessel, the settlement closest to the Floor 3 labyrinth. The rooms at this particular establishment cost at least twice as much as those in the other inns, and for good reason: they were large, beautiful and each of them came with a great view.

 _Speaking of expensive places, I'm sure there are some uber-fantastic inns on the higher floors. A one-night stay at a luxurious hotel might make for a good birthday or holiday gift for Liz and Argo – though affording the expenses might be a problem._

 _Second floor, room on the left end of the hall… okay, here we are._

Asuna greeted me with a smile that would make a lesser man swoon while Kirito gave me a friendly wave but I was too stunned by the other individual in the room to respond.

An elf. She was an elf, and a bewitching one at that. The female had dark skin, lilac hair and onyx-black eyes, though what stood out to me most were her pointy ears. Beneath her pitch black cloak was an impressive purple-coloured armour which she wore over a dark silk undersuit.

 _She looks like she's 27, but she's an elf so she's probably 270 or 2700 years old?_

"My name is Kizmel. As a proud member of the Pagoda Knights, I serve the Lyusulan Kingdom."

 _That salute sent shivers down my spine! Feet together, back straight, right hand curled into a fist and placed over the heart… she's the real deal alright. Now then, how does one greet an elven knight? Meh, let's wing it._

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm LOL, an independent adventurer. Thank you for assisting my friends," I introduced myself with a bow.

"Kirito and Asuna have been vital to the survival of my people. It is I who is in their debt." Kizmel's voice was strong and confident.

 _Interesting, I'll have to ask for details later. I've never seen such a lifelike NPC before, time to have some fun!_

"Might you do me the satisfaction of answering a question, Ms. Kizmel? I have been rather curious about something the moment I laid eyes on you."

"You can drop the honorifics, just 'Kizmel' is fine. So, what would you like to ask?"

"Is your alluring gorgeousness an elven trait or is milady's beauty and grace unique?"

Asuna facepalmed. She was probably contemplating whether to kill me or to kill herself. Kirito just stared with widened eyes.

Allow me to make one thing clear: I am no sleazebag! Whenever I flirt or complain about being single, it's all done for the sake of humour, something which is sorely lacking these days! If I were a dog, I'd be all bark but no bite!

Woof.

"Elvenkind is not so shallow as to obsess over something superficial like beauty. We are a clan of mighty warriors: loyalty, valour and honour are qualities that we value," Kizmel answered with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed tone. Obviously my flattery did not achieve the intended effect.

 _Shit, it's a cultural clash! Think, think, think…_

"Milady, appreciating beauty is no shallow act. Combat prowess can be obtained by any hard-working person – or elf, for that matter – yet pulchritude is a gift from the gods! Displaying reverence for one's beauty is tantamount to respecting the magnificence of divine beings; as lowly mortals, it is only right that we admire the heavenly blessings bestowed upon us."

I was trying my best to maintain a composed exterior but on the inside I was panicking. To everyone's surprise, Kizmel suddenly began cracking up.

"Hee hee hee! There is no need to be anxious, my earlier words were meant in jest." I exhaled in relief. "Still, it was impressive of you to come up with an answer like that despite being put on the spot."

"You sure got me good! I was attempting to fluster you but I ended up being played for a fool."

"You're a thousand years too early to think about rattling me," Kizmel commented with a smirk. I gave her a defeated smile. Perhaps those words were meant to be taken literally when uttered by an elf.

"Seems like it. Will we be heading out soon?" I asked, turning towards the Beater and the fencer.

"We're ready to leave whenever. You've still got preparations to make, right? I'll come with you." Although I had already gathered everything I needed beforehand, I simply nodded and followed Asuna out of the inn and onto the street.

"Since when did you become so frisky? I don't remember you flirting like that when we were travelling together."

"Well, I hadn't met Kizmel yet, and the prettiest girls were already in my party." Asuna responded to my playful wink with an exasperated groan. "Actually, I take back my words. Liz wasn't as cute back then as she is now – don't tell her I said that."

"No promises. You must be curious about Kizmel so let me fill you in. The elves are part of a quest chain called the Elf War campaign. Apparently the whole thing lasts all the way until the ninth floor, and there are no second chances if you fail along the way."

A quest chain. In other words, a series of quests linked together by a common storyline. They require considerable time and effort but the Exp and item rewards are well worth it.

"Elf War, huh? How many factions are involved?"

"Two. There are the Dark Elves – which Kizmel belongs to – and the Forest Elves. The campaign starts off with the player picking a side; as you can tell, Kirito and I decided to help Kizmel and the Dark Elves. That's why she's in our party."

"Ah, I see… wait, something doesn't add up. Other players should be doing the campaign as well so why are you guys the only ones who have an elf NPC as your ally?" I was walking around town earlier and didn't see a single party accompanied by an NPC.

"Kizmel joined us under special circumstances. She was supposed to sacrifice herself to take out a powerful enemy but we managed to defeat it before it came to that."

"Huh… good job. Would've been a shame if such a cute chick died."

"Geez, is a pretty face all you care about?"

"What can I say, I'm a simple man. That aside, how are you two holding up? The last time we spoke was during the weapon scam incident on Floor 2. You haven't been obsessing over Kirito too much, have you?"

"Just what do you take me for? We're doing well. The animosity towards Kirito has died down quite a bit: there are still some people who hate him, but at least they've stopped the harrassment."

 _That's because you went H.A.M. (hard as a mofo)_ _on the last person who shouted abuse at him._

"Also, having Kizmel around makes things a lot easier for us. I don't know if she'll stay in our party all the way until the ninth floor though in the meantime her company is much appreciated. Liz told me that you were training new players over the last few days. How'd that go?"

"It was great! Those guys were a joy to be around, they should be doing their best grinding in the Floor 1 labyrinth as we speak." I grinned as I recalled the pleasant times spent in the company of the Moonlit Black Cats. "If the opportunity arises, I'll introduce them to you one day."

"Sounds good. I'll hold you to that offer."

* * *

Spiders are disgusting. Think about it: they have eight legs, multiple eyes, their movements are freakish, their webs are a nuisance, some of them have poisonous fangs, they're ugly, they're ugly and they're ugly. I wouldn't be surprised if they were originally Lovecraftian demons that literally broke through the fourth wall and came into the world.

Therefore, the human-sized, six-eyed Thicket Spiders leaping out of the trees must be spawns of the devil himself. Then again, these creatures were created by Kayaba Akihiko, and that man was called a demon on multiple occasions.

"We've got the front! Watch our back!" Asuna yelled. Kirito stood by her side with his Anneal Blade in hand.

"Got it!"

"Understood."

Kizmel and I cautiously eyed the three hairy monsters before us, waiting for the aggressive creatures to make a move.

The mouth of the spider in the middle quivered –

 _Incoming!_

We quickly jumped to the side as the Thicket Spider shot long strands of silk from its mouth. Fortunately, the attack's range was not far enough to reach Kirito or Asuna. One of the spiders bent its eight legs and sprang towards me. Before it could catch me in its venomous fangs, I swung my newly acquired mace upwards, knocking it upside down. I raised the heavy weapon and slammed it down on the Thicket Spider's abdomen, ending its life.

A certain baby-faced blacksmith kindly gifted me the Apprentice's Mace which I wielded. I couldn't rely on my favourite dagger-and-stealth combination since some of the Floor 3 mobs were capable of detection without sight, and my absence from the frontlines meant that I was under-levelled. To make up for my low damage output, Liz provided me with the slow yet powerful weapon.

Kizmel had already slain the other two mobs by the time I was done. The elven knight was a warrior with no equal; none among the Clearers could hold a candle to her great swordplay.

Instead of exploring the labyrinth, the Beater and his partner thought it would be more productive to work on clearing the Elf War quests. Thus, the four of us were battling in the lush forests that spanned the entire southern area of Floor 3. At the moment, we were busy collecting a special type of flower known as _Ängsälvor's Ichor._ Over the decades the forest soil had been drenched by the blood of elves slain in combat, causing the flower's pure white petals to turn crimson – or so the legend went. According to Dark Elf custom, it was the duty of a senior officer to collect these blood-red flowers and place them on the graves of their fallen comrades.

"The war has become unprecedentedly fierce. Many promising youngsters have perished by the blades of our enemies. If this goes on, the forest may even run out of Ängsälvor's Ichor…" Kizmel was sombre throughout the mission. Kirito was largely unaffected by the quest's melancholic tone, though Asuna who was quite fond of Kizmel looked depressed.

 _I don't blame her for sympathising with Kizmel. Her expressions are so realistic that I almost forgot she was an NPC. I suppose it's difficult for someone like Asuna, who hasn't played a single video game in her entire life, to think of the lifelike Kizmel as just another character in a game._ _Oh look, there's a flower over there. With that we'll be one step closer towards finishing –_

"It's a trap."

Kizmel held out an arm in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. Even with the Searching skill equipped I was unable to detect any enemies so I had no clue what she was talking about. Judging from the expressions on Kirito and Asuna's faces, I was the only one who failed to detect the hidden threat.

I carefully scrutinised my surroundings. There wasn't a single spider hiding in the treetops, nor were there any foxes or porcupines lurking on the ground. All I could see was the Ängsälvor's Ichor innocently nestled in the thick roots of a fairly large tree.

 _Wait a second, that damn tree's breathing!_

"What the hell is that!? As if the Thicket Spiders weren't bad enough, now we've got these tree monsters! It's not even Halloween!" I complained, pointing at the 'tree'. I kept my voice low out of fear of startling the creature before us.

"I've never seen one that big before," Asuna commented.

 _That's what she said._

"Hah-low-wheen?" Kizmel gave me a quizzical look. The fencer helpfully gave her a quick explanation.

"That thing's an Elder Treant. They're very rare, we're quite lucky to find one," Kirito answered my question as he bent down to pick up a rock. "From what I've heard, a Treant is actually a dead tree possessed by a malevolent spirit. When a sentient being dies in this place, its soul may get lost in the forest, unable to pass on to the afterlife. After spending what feels like an eternity trapped in these woods, the departed soul goes mad and transforms into an evi – mmph!"

"Okay, okay, enough!" Asuna hastily interrupted her partner with a hand to his mouth; evidently she was not a fan of ghost stories. It seemed that she had fought these creatures without knowing about their true nature.

"Your vast knowledge never ceases to amaze me, Kirito," Kizmel remarked. "Treants are inherently malicious so we consider it ah obligation to destroy them whenever they are spotted. You can leave the reinforcements to me; I'm sure the three of you are more than enough to take it out."

"Wait, reinforcements?"

"The spirit possessing an Elder Treant is so powerful that it can exert some degree of influence over the other monsters of the forest," Kirito explained. "Now then, let's do this!"

The Beater hurled his rock at the malicious entity. The stone shattered upon impact. What happened next was so strange, so unexpected that I thought I was dreaming.

The Treant's green leaves turned into dust and were blown away by the wind. An eerie crackling echoed throughout the forest, then a few of its branches fell to the ground, leaving behind multiple knotholes all over the gigantic tree trunk.

Suddenly, pale lights shone in each of its knotholes.

Its roots turned into feet, its branches became slender claws. The Elder Treant did not howl like a beast nor scream like a human but its eerie whispers caused beads of cold sweat to slide down my forehead.

Keeping track of all of the Elder Treant's branches was no easy task. It took everything I had to prevent the monster from punching a hole through me. One of the branches grazed my shoulder, another knocked me to the ground. Out of reflex I immediately rolled to the side; the spot I previously lay on was impaled with multiple branches.

 _Bastard._

I ducked and jumped, backtracked and sidestepped, patiently waiting for my opportunity. Asuna reached the tree trunk despite the creature's unrelenting assault and let loose a swift barrage of stabs. She quickly hopped back before the Treant could ensnare her with its long roots.

With its attention on the fencer Kirito and I charged. The swordsman deftly swung his sword, opening up three long gashes on the monster's large body. The moment I was within range I jumped and brought down my mace on the Treant as I landed. There was enough force behind my strike to send any other enemy flying yet my attack barely caused the giant tree to budge.

 _Keep moving! Don't stand still!_

The intense struggle lasted for three minutes; by the end of it I was covered in scratches from head to toe, with more than half of my HP bar depleted. I wasn't sure whether it was Kirito or Asuna who dealt the final blow as they both plunged their blades into the Elder Treant at the same time. Of course, the Ängsälvor's Ichor was destroyed in the mayhem so we had to look for another one.

After collecting the fifty flowers Kizmel needed, we completed two more quests before calling it a day. The elven knight knew the forest like the back of her palm but the rest of us weren't too keen to be wandering in a forest filled with evil spirits and bloodthirsty animals at night. We were a good distance away from the nearest town and it was already quite late so Kizmel suggested spending the evening at a nearby Dark Elf encampment.

"I'm technically unaffiliated with your clan. Are you sure it's fine to bring someone like me into your camp?" I couldn't help but ask Kizmel. The Dark Elf camp was a safe zone that was accessible only by those who chose to ally with the Dark Elves; I hadn't even started the Elf War campaign.

"Worry not. I shall vouch for you should any of my kin object to your presence. You have lent me your aid, and for that I will make sure you receive the hospitality you deserve."

"That's reassuring. Thanks in advance for a good night's rest."

* * *

We had the freedom to take advantage of the Dark Elf camp's few amenities. These included a dining tent, a blacksmith's tent and, to Asuna and my surprise, a bathing tent.

 _It's been two months since I've washed myself. That's a weird thought._

Kizmel needed to speak with the base's commander and Asuna was busy upgrading her rapier. With nothing better to do, Kirito and I chose to wash away the day's fatigue with a nice, warm bath. The wooden, oval-shaped bathing tub could easily accommodate six or seven people so there was more than enough space for the two of us.

 _Aaaaaaaah… this is bliss. It's not everyday I get to enjoy myself like this._

"You know, I never got the chance to properly thank you." Kirito's words brought me back to reality.

"Th-theyank meeh? Foh hwat?" I slurred. The warm water was making me quite groggy.

"For convincing me to meet up with Klein back on Floor 1, and for partying with Asuna after the Illfang raid. Every time I ditched somebody you were there to support them. It's like you were salvaging all the bad decisions I made."

"Listen man, reconnecting with Klein was your decision; all I did was give you a little push. As for Asuna, I barely did anything for her. In fact, Liz is the one you should be thanking. If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why did you call yourself a Beater and shoulder everything on your own? I won't deny that your actions helped a lot of people, but those who care about you were… well, I'm sure you can imagine how they felt."

Kirito thought about his answer for a bit before speaking.

"It was an impulsive decision. Things were looking ugly and I felt like I had to do something. Frankly, I was naïve. I thought I could handle the isolation but I didn't realise how bad it really was until I was all on my own again. If it weren't for Argo's encouragement, I might've cracked," Kirito recalled sadly.

"You could've gone to Asuna or Klein. They would've accepted you with open arms."

"I didn't want the other players to hate them for associating with me. Do you remember the moment Asuna and I were reunited on Floor 2?" I nodded. "Actually, I tried to ditch her afterwards; she ended up beating me to a pulp."

 _Ouch. Sure sounds like something Asuna would do._

"This is what she told me: _"I don't give a damn what other people think. All I care about is keeping you safe so that I can repay you for saving me on Floor 1"_. It made me really happy to hear her say that."

 _That girl is such a tsundere._

"I ran into Klein and the others from Fuurinkazan later on. They told me that they'd back me up even if everyone else hated me. It was then I realised how badly I'd been longing for companionship, and so I gave up on trying to isolate myself."

Even though we had been acquaintances for some time I never had the opportunity to get to know Kirito so I was glad this conversation happened. His enemies thought of him as a selfish bastard who didn't give a fig about anyone else, while his admirers saw him as a champion, an invincible hero whom they could place their hopes on. In reality Kirito was merely a somewhat socially awkward teenager who disliked the attention and longed for companionship. Exchanges like these made this abundantly clear.

There was limited space within the encampment so Kizmel, Asuna, Kirito and I shared a tent. The knight was still busy with whatever she was doing but our other female companion was impatiently waiting for her turn to immerse herself in the warm bath.

"Finally! You two sure took your sweet time."

"Male bonding time is sacred and should not be rushed. Ain't that right, Kiri-bro?" I rested an arm on his shoulder.

"That's right, L-bro!" Asuna's disgusted face made me chuckle.

"If any of you dare peep at me, there will be consequences."

"I hadn't even thought about it but thanks for the suggestion!" I gave Asuna a thumbs-up.

"L, I will stab you if you try anything."

"Point taken, I'd rather not take the (rapier) point if you get what I mean. I'm way too tired to act as your training dummy," I said with a dismissive wave. In fact, I was so exhausted from all the fighting that I fell asleep seconds after Asuna left our tent. It wasn't often that I got a good night's sleep so that was really nice. Someone was kind enough to slide a pillow under my head and put a blanket on me.

* * *

"Did you guys see Argo's message?" Asuna asked us.

"The one about the boss raid being tomorrow, right?" She nodded at Kirito. "I'll go get Kizmel. She's probably wandering around the camp."

Our NPC ally wasn't present when the three of us woke up; no doubt she was a particularly early riser. I stifled a yawn and began putting on my combat gear. We spent the day progressing through the Elf War storyline. The first quest of the day involved hunting down a giant butterfly released by the Forest Elves for reconnaissance. Contrary to the spiders and the treants, the butterfly was a very beautiful creature; I almost felt bad for striking it down. Afterwards we were tasked with rescuing a captured Dark Elf scout and escorting him back to the camp. Of course, the Forest Elves weren't going to just let us leave with one of their prisoners: we had to fend off the many pursuers they sent after us on top of dealing with the various monsters of the forest.

"I've got the left one! Right one's yours!"

Asuna overwhelmed her opponent with sheer speed while Kirito calmly traded blows with an elf wielding an impressive curved sword. In one swift move the Beater stepped to the side and stuck out his foot, tripping his adversary. Kirito nailed the elf to the ground by stabbing through his wrist, and the last thing the NPC saw was my mace descending on his head.

 _For someone who's been playing solo most of the time, Kirito's pretty good at working in a team._

"They're relentless. Let us make haste before more of their assassins catch up to us. I'm sorry but you'll have to bear the pain."

"This pain is nothing compared to the shame of my failure!" The elven scout said through gritted teeth. He was crippled by his captives and couldn't walk without Kizmel's support.

Barely a minute went by before more enemies showed up. This time there were five assailants though we weren't concerned despite being outnumbered. Unlike Kizmel, these elves weren't too fast and their attacks were predictable. Kirito and Asuna each dealt with two of them with ease, and I was more than enough to dispatch the remaining one.

As my adversary disintegrated into colourful fragments, I realised that all the sparring sessions with Argo, Liz and Klein had paid off.

"…We should be safe here, they will not pursue us this far. Let us rest here for a moment," Kizmel suggested. She rested the injured scout against a tree.

"I apologise, commander. I've been nothing but a burden."

"You displayed great valour by risking your life to obtain vital information. Be proud of that, soldier."

"…It is my greatest honour to receive such praise from a hero like yourself!" The scout looked as if he was about to shed tears.

"Wow, I didn't know we were travelling with a celebrity! Can I get an autograph?" I asked jokingly.

"What is an aw-toh-graff? Is it another one of your human inventions?" Kizmel and her subordinate looked at me with puzzled expressions.

 _Cultural barriers are annoying, aren't they?_

"An autograph is… a signature written as a memento for an admirer. Um… basically, I was hoping for something to remember you by!"

I really should've just told her that my words were nothing but a flippant jibe.

"If it's a souvenir you're asking for I'm happy to oblige, but I'm afraid an aw-toh-graff is out of the question. To us, a signature is tantamount to an oath."

"Oh, that's alright! It doesn't have to be an autograph!"

 _Me and my big mouth._

"Though I must say, I will not require a trinket to remember you. The memory of your desperate attempts to justify your flirtations shall stay with me for the years to come!" Kizmel said with a mischievous smile. My chagrined expression caused her to shake with mirth.

The quest was completed with no further complications. We bade Kizmel farewell before travelling back to Dessel; she surprised all of us by gifting me with an Elven Dagger.

"Did you not wish for a memento? Think of it as a token of appreciation," she said with a smile. I was so stunned that I almost forgot to thank her.

We met up with Liz and the merry men of Fuurinkazan after returning to town. Nobody said anything about it but deep down we were all anxious about the upcoming boss battle. Thus, we unanimously agreed to spend the evening together.

"Man, I'm sick and tired of Floor 3! I'm ready to move on to the next floor!" Dynamm complained loudly.

"What's wrong with Floor 3? The Elf War campaign's been quite fun," Kirito asked him. Asuna was miffed to find out that Fuurinkazan sided with the Forest Elves.

"I'm arachnophobic! I almost piss my pants every time one of those damn spiders pop out of a tree!"

 _You have my deepest sympathies._

"But you stood your ground every single time, and that takes guts! I'll drink to that! Wash away your frustrations with this sweet, sweet blasphemy!" Klein merrily clinked mugs with his friend.

"Why do you call beer 'blasphemy'?" Liz couldn't help but ask.

"Because they're the same. A few mouthfuls and you'll get stoned!" Klein's face was flushed and he spoke a little louder than usual. "Barmaid, I want another Elven Brew!"

"Watch it Klein, we've got the Floor Boss tomorrow. Don't drink too much." Kunimittz, ever the cautious one, warned his party leader.

"Don't worry, don't worry! I'll stop after the next one. It takes at least seven of these for me to pass out; I'm limiting myself to three."

"I should get going now. It's about time," Liz said as she stood up.

"So soon? You normally don't open store until half an hour later," I remarked. She usually worked as a blacksmith between nine to ten in the mornings and evenings.

"There might be a large number of requests since we've got the boss fight tomorrow so I thought I'd start earlier. Sorry guys, but my people need their queen!"

"It's ironic to call yourself a queen when you're wearing a waitress outfit."

"A queen has class, Liz. You have none!"

"I'll have you two executed," Liz declared as Kirito and Asuna high-fived each other. "Well then, I'll see you all tomorrow!"

* * *

 _That was enjoyable. It's good to see everyone again._

I was absentmindedly ambling back to the inn when we ran into each other. The completely coincidental reunion was a surprise to be sure but a welcome one.

"It's you!"

"Dillon! It's been ages! C'mere, you!" I pulled the purple-haired teen into a tight hug. I was shocked when Argo told me he was spotted fighting alongside a couple of players belonging to MMO Today, and was even more surprised to learn that he joined Godfree's party the next day.

"There are many things I want to say to you, but… more than anything, I'm glad that you're doing well, and I'm proud of you for persevering. Keep it up man, you've been brilliant."

"T-thank you. I've had lots of help," he replied bashfully. "Erm, I'm part of Godfree's party so I'll be fighting in the boss raid tomorrow."

"Nice! I look forward to celebrating our victory afterwards. Do you want to sit down and chat for a bit?"

"…Sorry, I'm supposed to be meeting someone right now." His tone and expression made it clear that he was genuinely apologetic.

"It's fine, it's fine! Better not keep them waiting," I said, slapping Dillon lightly on the back.

"Um… I owe you, Lisbeth and Asuna for saving my life. I'll definitely repay you guys for that one day."

"Silly boy. The best way to repay us is to live your life to the fullest; you're already doing that, aren't you? Well, give Godfree my regards. See you tomorrow."

* * *

" _FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"_

" _IT'S HOPELESS! RUN!"_

 _No, no, no, no…_

 _We lost. Despite our best efforts, we failed. Diavel, dead. Agil, slain. Kibaou, murdered. Lind, destroyed._

 _Kirito? Crushed to bits despite his best efforts._

 _Asuna? Stabbed through the heart trying to avenge her partner._

 _This can't be happening. THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!_

 _Klein? Dying of poision. Dynamm? Deceased. Kunimittz, dismembered. Issin, shattered. H1, strangled to death. Dale? He refused to run, and so he died._

 _They all died. They all died before my very own eyes, coldly murdered by this brutal world. I was there. With them. And I could do nothing._

" _HELP! SAVE ME!"_

 _The boss had taken out Dillon's legs. He desperately crawled his way towards the entrance of the boss room… but he didn't make it._

 _It wasn't the boss who killed him. No, he was trampled to death by the fleeing players._

 _WAAAAAH! NO! DON'T DO THIS! I'M BEGGING YOU!_

" _L! Watch out!"_

 _I was shoved the ground. I looked up to see Liz being lifted into the air…_

 _NO! PLEASE, DON'T! STOP IT!_

 _The boss slammed her onto the floor. Hard. So hard that the whole boss room shook. Her avatar shattered into fragments. Nothing remained, save for the echoes of her ghastly scream._

 _AAAAAHHHHHH!_

 _Then the whole world turned black. The rampaging boss, the defeated raid party… everything disappeared._

 _ **Look at you.**_

 _ **A failure.**_

 _ **You selfishly gave up everything…**_

 _ **And for what?**_

 _ **They all died.**_

 _ **Your actions were in vain.**_

 _ **They suffered, are suffering, because of what you did.**_

 _ **You vowed to be a saviour…**_

 _ **So why did they all die? Why couldn't you save**_

 _ **A**_

 _ **Single**_

 _ **Person?**_

 _ **Can you feel the blood on your hands?**_

* * *

My blanket was drenched in sweat. My pillow was soaked in tears.

These nightmares had become an almost daily occurrence. Dreamland used to be a paradise; dreamland was now a torture chamber.

When was it that I started fearing sleep? When had my fears, my insecurities overwhelmed my boundless optimism?

The day my insomnia began must've been the day when the stress of the death game caught up to me.

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like writing this story is turning me into a sadist.** **At the beginning I felt bad about making the characters suffer but now I kind of enjoy it. Well, I suppose this means that I'm maturing as an author, so… yay?**

 **As mentioned before, Kizmel is a character in the SAO: Progressive manga. She's a fun but challenging character to write about.**

 **Sorry, no omake this time. I actually wrote two omakes but I decided not to include either of them since they don't mesh well with this chapter's heavy ending. As usual, thanks for reading and updated information on the OCs is on my profile page. Have a good day!**


	13. Casualty

Ch.11 – Casualty

This time the Floor Boss wasn't some vaguely humanoid, weapon wielding monstrosity. The gatekeeper of the third floor was [Nerius the Evil Treant], a gigantic decaying tree said to be possessed by ninety-nine wicked spirits. It looked rather different from the creature that appeared in my nightmare though it was still an unpleasant sight to lay eyes on. Neither its sharp, thick branches nor poisonous breath were enough to stop us; the wooden monster went down quite quickly once we had gotten used to its attack patterns. While the previous Floor Bosses, [Illfang the Kobold King] and [Asterius the Taurus King], were creatures with rough, battle-hardened bodies, Nerius was literally a rotting tree so it made sense that its defence stats were relatively poor.

The battle really isn't something worth going into detail about so let's skip ahead a little.

* * *

"Wah– hwuh?"

Liz grabbed my shoulder and shook me awake.

"Dude, you've been dozing off non-stop. How are you this tired? The boss fight wasn't even that bad," she said to me.

"I barely slept a wink yesterday," I rubbed my eyes as I spoke.

"You must be seriously exhausted if you can fall asleep in such a noisy place." There was a hint of mirth in Dillon's tone. The patrons of the tavern talked loudly amongst one another; we had to strain our ears and raise our voices just to hear each other.

"Why don't you go back to the inn and have an early night?" The purple-haired teen suggested. I shook my head.

"Nah. Ther– *yawn* there's supposed to be an important meeting tonight, right? It wouldn't be a good idea to miss out. I'll walk around for a bit, that'll help me stay awake. See you guys later." I chugged down what remained of my sweet, fruity drink before walking out of the building. So much for catching up with Dillon, I was too weary to even hold a proper conversation with him. Good thing Liz was there as well.

The crisp evening air was invigorating. I took a few deep breaths and began aimlessly wandering the streets of Rovia, one of the largest settlements on Floor 4. This city wasn't an unpleasant place to stay in compared to the run-down villages on Floor 1; it just felt very, very boring. As if the city's plain design and dull, greyish buildings weren't interesting enough, even the NPC inhabitants looked particularly lethargic. Clearly SOMEONE didn't put much effort into designing the area. At least there was a teleport gate and a fairly large city square which was a convenient location for public meetings.

Most – if not all – of the Clearers were in Rovia, and everyone was in high spirits as the battle had been completed in record time without a single death. Morale was at an all-time high; everybody was probably confident that the next Floor Boss raid would go as swimmingly as it did today.

"Fer someone who was *chew* *chew* involved in such a successful boss fight, ya don't *chew* *chew* *gulp* look too happy," Argo commented. I ran into her moments ago and we decided to keep each other company.

"I am happy, I'm just too tired to show it."

"If ya say so." I plucked the half-eaten beef jerky out of her fingers and popped it into my mouth, earning a scowl from the info broker.

"Ya know, I was feelin' real nervous 'bout today. I was expectin' Kayaba to make changes to Nerius, just as he did to the last two bosses, so I thought I failed y'all when I couldn't find a single clue. Heh, in the end that damned tree pretty much stayed the same since the beta. Its appearance changed slightly but that was it."

Argo chuckled. Perhaps she was thinking about how needlessly anxious she had been.

"On behalf of everyone, thank you so much for your hard work. The paranoia must've been stressful, I'm sorry you had to experience that. Then again, it's a good thing there weren't any nasty surprises this time around."

"Yeh… though I wouldn't count on Kayaba not changin' anythin' for the next Floor Boss."

"Fair enough. By the way, do you know what Diavel's up to?" I asked. Following the Nerius raid, the blue-haired 'knight' declared that he would be holding a public meeting in Rovia as he wished to discuss a crucial matter with us. As the raid party players began curiously whispering with one another, a certain man stepped forward.

"Why don't you talk about it now instead of leaving it for later?" Godfree asked. Just like the previous boss fights, the large man acted as one of the sub-leaders for the battle.

"It's an important issue but it isn't anything urgent. I'd rather speak about it after we all get a chance to rest up and celebrate." That was Diavel's reply before he left the boss room. Although he didn't reveal anything, I was half-expecting my mentor to know about his plans.

"Looks like yer 'bout to find out now." Following Argo's gaze, I saw that a huge crowd of players had gathered in the city square. Standing atop a wooden barrel was Diavel, looking as if he were some famous preacher or poet who was about to impart words of wisdom upon his devout followers.

"Settle down people, settle down," Diavel said as he clapped his hands. I always found his ability to calmly talk (perform) before large audiences impressive. After all, public speaking is a skill many people struggle to master.

"Before I begin, I'd like to thank you all once again for your splendid efforts today! If we keep this up, we'll be out of this hellhole in no time!" His words brought forth exuberant cheering. The more reserved players resorted to clapping loudly, joy evident on their smiling faces.

Diavel grinned. He knew he had gotten off to a good start.

"Recently I spoke with a beta tester and learned something intriguing: apparently the [Guild Formation Quest] is available on this floor. I strongly advise you all to form [Guilds] with your fellow players ASAP."

 _Oh, right. SAO is an MMO so of course it would have guilds._

"For those who don't know what I'm talking about, guilds are basically a convenient way to organise a large group of people playing together in an online game like SAO. From what I've heard, in this game those who belong to the same guild will have access a shared (cash) vault and item storage. Additionally, guild members who are in the same party will receive a slight boost to their stats."

Diavel paused to catch his breath, allowing his listeners a moment to digest his words. The last bit in particular – the part about guild members receiving stat boosts when partying together – caught the attention of quite a few people.

"Our enemies will only become stronger as we go higher, and we must keep on improving in order to stay successful. Creating guilds will allow us all to communicate and cooperate more easily; I'm sure that'll help us immensely in the future! As such, I will start my own guild, and am currently recruiting members! Whether we become guildmates or not, I will continue to rely on your strengths to reach the very top floor! Let us survive and escape together!"

The response was instantaneous. And rambunctious. Diavel was barraged with countless questions the moment he hopped off the barrel he stood on. Other players eagerly discussed the prospects of creating their own organisations. At this moment I noticed that Argo had disappeared; knowing her, she was probably running around the chaotic city collecting information.

 _I should meet up with Liz and Dillon, though it'll be hard to get to them with all these people… ah, I should also pay him a visit. I'm curious to see what he thinks about all this._

* * *

"Diavel's speech was quite interesting, wasn't it?"

"The stuff he said does make sense. It's true that guilds can facilitate collective action, and better coordination among the Clearers will be important in the long run, though we all know Diavel's main goal was to promote his guild. As usual he's a shrewd operator," Agil answered with a hearty laugh. Although the axe-user and I occasionally teamed up against Field Bosses, travelling in different groups meant that we rarely had opportunities to chat. As such I made sure to catch up with him after the Floor Boss raids.

"I doubt he was aiming for subtlety. It's probably too early to ask this now but who do you think will be successful guildmasters in the future?" I asked. Following Diavel's monologue earlier, some of the more well-known players decided to start their own guilds as well.

Agil mulled over my question for a bit. He had a habit of rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger while cogitating.

"Hard to say. I'd place my bets on Diavel and Godfree, those two are leadership material. I can see Lind and Kibaou starting off well if they decide to create their own guilds since they've got quite a bit of support but I'm not particularly confident in either of them."

Diavel's guild was called [The Conquerors of Aincrad] (TCA). I thought it sounded pretty cool, certainly was fitting for the organisation led by the impromptu leader of the Clearers. Godfree's group was known as the [Knights of the Blood Oath] (KOB). Slightly edgy, not a bad name though.

"Kibaou strikes me as an ambitious person so I wouldn't be surprised if he left Diavel's party to start his own guild, but Lind? I always thought of him as the extremely loyal type. Well, you know those two better than I do so I'll take your word for it. What about you? Are you going to start a guild too?"

"Nah. I'm going to team up with Diavel, he has the most potential out of all the guildmasters. Besides, we've worked together countless times so there's good chemistry between us."

Agil and Diavel made quite the terrifying pair back on Floor 2 when they interrogated Orlando, the leader of the Legend Braves and ringleader of the weapon scams which Asuna and Agil were victims of.

"What do you plan to do? I'm sure you've gotten multiple guild invites already."

"Yes, but I'm going to turn them all down." The statement caused Agil to look at me in surprise.

"That's unexpected. Do you have a thing against guilds?"

"In a sense, yes. Joining a guild would mean prioritising its interest above everything else, and that's the problem. Rather than being tied down to a guild, I want the freedom to help anyone I want. I don't want to focus on benefitting a certain group of players."

"Huh, I can see where you're coming from. In a way that's something in character for you to say… but what about Lisbeth?"

"She's decided to stay neutral out of consideration for preserving the power balance between the guilds. As the best – and most popular – player blacksmith in SAO, it could be quite game-breaking if a guild were to monopolise her abilities, especially since there isn't anyone else who comes close to her level of skill yet."

"That's awfully considerate of her but I can't say that I don't mind Lisbeth holding back on account of everyone else. She should do whatever she wants, party with whoever she likes." Agil spoke with a frown.

"Liz has always been a selfless person, that's just how she is. Still, it's kind of you to worry about her."

There was a moment of silence as we watched the people around us. Some enthusiastic player – he looked more or less my age – was (over)zealously attempting to recruit a charming young lady into his guild. She was visibly annoyed.

… Oh, she left. The guy looks dejected, tough luck there. Agil chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm worried about the future." My words caught the dark-skinned man's attention. "Right now the Clearers are a large group of players united under Diavel's ad hoc leadership; once the guild system comes into play, the raid party will become fragmentised. I'm… scared that inter-guild dynamics will get in the way of clearing the game."

"Hmm… well, think of it this way: even without the existence of guilds, different factions within the raid party are bound to emerge anyways. If anything, the guild system makes it easier to identify the different groups, and that helps us to more easily make sense of things, right?"

"Wow, that's a new perspective. Never thought about it that way." I reflected on Agil's words for a bit, and…

I drifted off to sleep. Despite all that moving around and all the excitement involving the guilds, the exhaustion finally caught up with me.

…

"Gah!"

I sprang up. Agil slapped me on the back. Hard.

"Go get some rest kid. It's been a long day."

"I'll do just that. Bye for now, Agil. Take care."

"You too, I'll see you around."

I tiredly staggered back to the inn.

* * *

Even more players ended up joining/forming guilds over the next few days; it wasn't long before the non-guild players within the Clearers became the minority. Liz and I politely turned down any invitations sent our way. The other players were quite understanding of our reasons to not join any of the guilds, though I got the feeling that some of them were satisfied as long as nobody could claim our abilities when they failed to recruit us.

Among the 'free agents' Asuna was definitely the most sought after player. Apart from the fact that she was a bewitching beauty – give her four years and KABLAM! – she was clearly one of the best fighters in the game. Moreover, given her close partnership with Kirito many thought that acquiring Asuna would result in him joining as well. The anti-Beater minority aside, nobody was willing to pass up such a delicious 'buy one, get one free' deal.

Somehow, Asuna steadfastly rejecting every single offer she received made her even more popular.

Progress on the fourth floor was astounding, largely because the guilds were competing with each other discover the boss room first. Neither Liz nor I were concerned about reaching the labyrinth quickly so we took our time completing quests on the way to [Usco], the town closest to the tower-like dungeon as well as the location of the guild formation quest. We eventually arrived at Usco one evening to find the place flooded with people.

You should've seen the line at Liz's shop that night, it was crazy.

Most of the raid party was in Usco so running into Lind in the general store the next evening was hardly surprising. A fairly prominent member of the Clearers, this young man started out as a member of Diavel's party and emerged from the Illfang raid as one of the most outspoken anti-Beaters. However, unlike Kibaou he seemed to have softened his stance recently, perhaps owing to Kirito's outstanding contributions in the boss raids. Clearly an admirer of Diavel's, Lind modelled his avatar to resemble the raid party leader's. Even his weapon choice – a round shield and a steel sword – looked similar to the ones Diavel used.

Klein once referred to him as a 'poor man's Diavel'. I thought that the nickname was quite fitting.

"Someone sure is in a good mood today. Did something nice happen?" Neither of us were in a rush to be anywhere so I decided to make small talk with Lind. The guy was wearing a smile that was wider than the Grand Canyon; even an oblivious fool would notice his jubilant expression.

"We officially created our guild moments ago," Lind proudly stated.

"Oh, congratulations! What's it called?"

"The [Divine Dragon Alliance] – DDA for short. Pretty cool, don't you think?"

 _Nope, not at all. It's lame._ Of course, I couldn't say that to him so I lied. Yes, honesty is a virtue but the truth wouldn't have been of use to anyone.

"I don't want to force the issue but are you sure you don't want to join us? We'd be glad to have you on board. Same goes for that blacksmith – her name was Lisbeth, right?"

 _He's persistent alright._

"Yep. I want to help everyone who's trapped in SAO, and joining a guild would restrict my freedom to do so. Thanks for your offer though, I appreciate it."

"Hmm… hey, I have an idea. Why don't you tag along with my party tomorrow? Give me a chance to show you how good my guys are, and maybe you'll end up liking us enough to want to join us," Lind suggested.

 _Geez, did he not hear a thing I said? Still, this is a good opportunity to see what Lind's group is capable of. At least it'll be good for future reference._

"Alright, I can go along with that. So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Ha, I'm glad you asked!" For some reason, the way Lind said that felt a little unnerving. "The DDA's first mission will be to take down a certain enemy on Floor 1."

"…Wait, you don't mean –!"

"Exactly! There's no point competing will all the other guilds to find the boss room since quite a few of them got a head start on us. Instead, we'll distinguish ourselves by defeating the secret boss! That'll be our first step towards becoming the number one guild in all of SAO!" Lind's eyes were those of a dreamer's. He spoke excitedly but kept a low voice so that no one else could hear his words.

Let me hit the pause button right here. Remember how I spent a good few days mentoring the Moonlit Black Cats after Floor 2 was cleared? At that time there were also other groups of rookie players led by volunteers of the Clearers. One of these parties happened to stumble upon some kind of brand new secret spot. The party leader, an SAO veteran, didn't want to risk entering an unexplored area with a team of inexperienced beginners so he or she informed Argo of this hidden location and left the investigating to her.

Although Argo was fully prepared for a fight, she didn't run into a single mob in this unknown domain. There was nothing but a long, winding path; the thick vegetation on both sides of the trail prevented her from going off track. At the end of the path was a large, eerie cave. Argo had been gaming long enough to know that something unpleasant was lurking in there; moreover, her [Searching] skill confirmed the existence of an adversary.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves then stepped into the cave.

In the middle of the great barren chamber was a lone creature. Judging from its canine face, long, thin ears and large tail, one could easily tell that the monster was a variant of the [Kobold] mobs that spawned on the first floor. It would not be a stretch to describe it as 'human-sized' though it certainly was considerably larger than the average Asian male. This beast was clearly unique: glowing, black markings ran all over the peculiar demi-human's red, bulky body. Oddly enough, the weird dark-coloured tattoo seemed to be pulsating as if it were some kind of blood vessel.

The hidden monstrosity was known as the [Demonic Kobold]. Fortunately for Argo, the creature was dormant, and would stay that way until it was provoked. Ever since then, everyone made sure to stay the hell away from that area. Let the sleeping dog (demon) lie, lest you seek a gruesome death.

There's a little more to this curious tale: we soon discovered that there were other similar secret bosses. One of these insanely powerful creatures would appear on the same floor as a defeated Floor Boss; Argo and Claws had been successful in locating the secret bosses of the second and third levels of Aincrad. The bespectacled tactician was keen to investigate these peculiar monsters, though so far he failed to find any information whatsoever.

With that exposition out of the way, time to get back to the story.

"I know what you're thinking," Lind said upon seeing my concerned countenance. "Don't worry, I'm not a reckless idiot. I spoke with the Rat about this earlier today. She said that we should stand a pretty good chance against that thing at our current levels."

 _I doubt he'd lie about consulting Argo but there's no harm double-checking with her. If she thinks that Lind's group can handle the boss, then I suppose it'll be fine._

"That's reassuring. Alright, I'll join your party tomorrow on one condition," I told Lind.

"And that condition is?"

"I want full [info-selling rights]. Guarantee that, and I'll fight with you guys."

Cor and item drops were not the only spoils of war; information was also an invaluable prize that could fetch a hefty sum. Occasionally, a player might be awarded info-selling rights if there wasn't enough loot to go around. When this happened, the other party members agreed not to sell any newly gained information; only the player(s) with info-selling rights had the privilege to do so. It may seem easy for a player to break this promise, but the act of selling information itself is a piece of knowledge which could be bought. Snitches get stitches, and in SAO you could easily catch a snitch if you had enough money.

With that said, I intended to give whatever knowledge I would acquire the next day to Argo for free. My aim was not to benefit from the information but to prevent Lind from charging my mentor an exuberant sum for it.

Anything to make that whiskered midget's life easier.

"That's absolutely fine. Meet my party at the town entrance tomorrow at nine thirty."

"Got it, good night and see you soon."

Lind emerged from our conversation an even happier man. After parting ways with him I headed towards the spot where Liz had set up her street stall. My timing was impeccable: Liz was bidding her last customer farewell when I arrived. As she packed up her store, I told her about my exchange with the DDA guildmaster.

"… And that's why I agreed to join Lind's party tomorrow. I'm quite interested to see how good they really are." I extended my hand towards Liz and helped her up. "Wow, you're heavy. Maybe you should – oof!"

"I'm nervous about fighting that secret boss but I trust Argo's judgement. If she thinks we can handle it then we'll probably be alright. I guess this'll be good warm up for the Floor Boss, don't you think?"

 _Okay, here goes…_

"Actually, I was hoping you'd sit out this boss battle."

"What!? No! I'm not letting you fight such a dangerous enemy alone." Liz glared at me. Her expression was a mix between surprise and anger.

"I'm not exactly 'alone', you know. Or does Lind's party no qualify as people?" I said jokingly. My friend was not amused.

"Do you really think that I'll be fine with leaving your life in the hands of people I barely even know!? You're an idiot if you think so. I'm taking part tomorrow. That's it, end of discussion!"

 _I'm touched that you care, but I won't back down. Not on this._

"Hear me out for a sec, Liz. It might not necessarily be a good thing if you come along. Remember, neither of us have fought with Lind's party before. They can adapt to one additional member easily enough, but two of us might screw up their teamwork. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

"Okay, there's some truth to that, but –"

"Besides, the whole point of partying with Lind's group is to see what they're made of, and it'll be much harder to get a grasp of their abilities if you join us. I appreciate your concern but there's no need to worry; after all, Argo thinks that the DDA can take care of the boss so I should be reasonably safe. Trust me on this, alright?"

 _Please, Liz. I can't afford to put you at risk._

On the very first day, Argo and I swore to protect her. We told Liz that we'd help her through this ordeal and get her back to the real world. Despite being – no, it was because I had been an irredeemable compulsive liar in the past that I was desperate to keep this one promise. Liz's death was a recurring theme in the many nightmares I experienced; I was prepared to do anything to prevent it from becoming a reality.

She was also one of my dearest friends. That alone was enough reason to want to keep her out of harm's way.

"…I don't like it. I really don't, but… what the hell, fine. In exchange, promise me that you'll be careful."

"I promise."

We returned to the inn side by side.

* * *

" _Yo, thanks fer comin'! Really appreciate it," Argo said cheerily. "Normally I'd do this on my own but I thought I could use some help."_

 _It was a long time since the three of us were able to party together. Neither of us would admit it but we were all very happy about this valuable opportunity._

" _Lemme guess, you're too short to reach certain areas so you need us to lift you up?" I spoke with a mean smile._

" _Hahaha… screw ya, ya SUV."_

" _I don't think that's an insult," Liz commented._

" _Nah, ya misunderstand. It's meant to be an acronym for 'stupid, ugly virgin', that's what SUV stands for!"_

" _I'll beat you up later. So, where are we going to?" I asked._

" _Some secret underground dungeon I discovered yesterday. This place wasn't in the beta so I decided to play it safe and get ya'll."_

" _I hope it won't be too dangerous," I said with a frown._

" _Don't worry! All of us are pretty high-levelled so I'm sure we can handle anythin' that pops up, and my [Searching] skill is good enough to reveal any hidden traps. Plus, we've got more than enough items in case we run low on health," Argo assured me._

" _As long as we're careful, I'm sure we'll be fine," Liz added. Feeling quite reassured, I nodded and smiled._

…

" _This has to be the deepest part of the dungeon," I said as we entered a room at the end of a long corridor._

" _I don't detect any enemies in 'ere, we should be safe," Argo told us._

 _Looking around, I noticed a sizeable treasure chest at the other end of the chamber and excitedly alerted the girls. We eagerly rushed forward; Argo, quickest among us, was the first to approach the chest. She knelt before it, picked the lock and yanked open the chest –_

" _Eh?"_

 _A pale, slender arm holding a knife popped out of the box._

 _Said knife was stuck between Argo's eyes._

 _It all happened too quickly. By the time I realised what happened, Argo had shattered into million little pieces. The deadly treasure chest vanished into thin air._

" _No… NO! ARGO!"_

 _I collapsed onto my knees in shock. A wave of nausea washed over me._

" _Scum. In the end you were useless," Liz spat out. The crying girl's voice was thick with resentment._

 _I couldn't respond to her words because I knew she was right._

" _The three of us were supposed to return to the real world together. You promised! So why is she dead!?" Liz screamed hysterically. There was nothing I could say._

" _Now that she's gone, we're all doomed. Didn't you vow to free everyone!? You said that you wanted to help the trapped players, that you'd be a guiding light for them. How could you let her die!? Disgusting liar. I wish you were the one who died!"_

 _Damn it all. If only I could've taken that blow for Argo…!_

* * *

 ***Huff* *Huff* *Huff* *Huff***

Hyperventilating, soaked in sweat and wide awake from a horrifying nightmare. How many times had I found myself in such a pitiful, pathetic state?

 _Calm down. It was just a dream. Control your breathing._

"… W-whisk egg yolks in a large bowl. A-add… um, sugar, water and oil then mix. Sift cake flour…"

Different people had their little tricks to calm themselves; mine involved reciting (out loud) the recipe of a particular dish. As I chanted the cooking instructions like they were the incantations for a magic spell, my rapidly beating heart gradually slowed down.

"…Bake for thirty minutes, cool it upside down, remove it from the pan and voila, we have her favourite dessert: a green tea chiffon cake." The end of my little recitation was accompanied with a heavy sigh.

I was such a coward that I didn't dare close my eyes and drift off to scary, scary dreamland. Thus I simply laid in a dark room with my dark thoughts, waiting for the seconds to turn into minutes and minutes to turn into hours.

Another typical start to the day for me. Eventually it was time to meet up with Lind's party. I kept on repeating to myself that dreams were no ill omen and had no bearing on reality.

 _Focus, focus, focus! You can't let this distract you. Forget about all this. Now go out there and fight!_

The founding members of the DDA were amicable towards me. After a round of brief introductions, we spent the rest of the morning completing quests so as to warm up for the upcoming boss fight. It was reassuring to see that Lind's party was quite competent. Every single player had been part of the raid party since Floor 1; they were all reliable, experienced members of the Clearers. In terms of overall fighting abilities, Lind and a man called Shivata were heads and shoulders above the rest of their teammates. Like his guildmaster, Shivata served as one of the tanks of his party. He wore a helmet that covered his face, heavy armour and wielded a longsword and an almond-shaped shield.

To compensate for the lack of speed in Lind's party, I chose to wield my [Squire's Rapier], a weapon which I had acquired a couple days ago. It was a vast improvement over my store-bought [Bronze Rapier], and thanks to Liz's multiple enhancements this thin blade really packed a punch. Later that day we found ourselves in front of the Demonic Kobold's hidden den, reviewing our battle strategy one last time before heading in. This time Argo was only able to provide us with very little information. Even for her, surviving a fight with the secret boss was a practically impossible feat, so the fact that she managed to even give us anything was a testament to her abilities as an informant.

There were eight of us for this boss raid: three tanks, three attackers and two supports. The plan was to start off defensively and figure out our adversary's patterns before going on the offensive.

Lind, Shivata and a cheerful man called Yamata were the tanks. As our first line of defence, they had the toughest yet most important role in this fight. If their collective efforts weren't enough to keep the Demonic Kobold at bay, we had no choice but to retreat. Cut your losses, or get cut in half.

The attackers comprised of myself and Hafner, a middle-aged man who was far kinder than his appearance would suggest. Simply put, he was your stereotypical one-handed sword wielder. Hafner was actually an ex-member of Diavel's party; it seemed that he left that group out of loyalty to Lind. I couldn't help but wonder if the DDA guildmaster was more charismatic than I gave him credit for. To be honest, I don't remember the third attacker's name. He used a two-handed axe so let's call him 'Fake Agil'.

Each attacker would be positioned behind one of thanks; I was assigned to 'shadow' Shivata. Our primary role was to seize gaps in the boss's attacks to deal as much damage as possible, though we would step in if needed to ensure the safety of the tanks.

The two support players were actually brothers in real life. The red-haired one was called Cain while the younger, green-haired one was called Abel. Pretty sick reference, but couldn't they have chosen a less tragic pair of siblings to name themselves after? If any of the attackers or tanks lost too much HP, one of them would act as a substitute until the damaged player recovered sufficiently. They were also tasked with observing the boss's attack patterns; whether the ensuing combat would be short-lived or drawn out depended partly on their analytical abilities.

"… Okay, that should be everything. You guys ready?" Lind asked. With varying degrees of nervousness each of us answered affirmatively. "Perfect. Let's do this!"

In SAO, the kobolds were an aggressive species that reacted violently towards anything that moved. They would howl like rabid dogs while wildly swinging their weapons. The Demonic Kobold, however, was the picture of serenity. It paid us no heed as it sat in the centre of the cave meditating. A beautiful, black sword lay next to the creature. The weapon looked very valuable… and sharp. Looking at the blade made my heart race; I hadn't seen anything like it during my two or so months trapped in the game. Argo explicitly warned us that trying to steal the sword would be a fatal mistake.

It was eight against one. Each of us were battle-hardened veterans and we had prepared more than sufficiently for the fight, yet we were undeniably the underdogs in this battle.

… _This is it. No time to hesistate. Focus!_

At Lind's signal, a pair of throwing picks flew at the Demonic Kobold. One struck it in the chest, the other straight on the face.

Someone gasped as the creature's eyes shot open. It got up unhurriedly, as if it were in no rush to dispose of its intruders. I couldn't help but shudder under the weight of its intimidating glare. Two life bars appeared under its name, and the battle began.

"H-here it comes!" Lind yelped.

The boss flew at Shivata. Barely raising his shield in time, his whole body shook from the raw power of its slash.

Before anyone could react the monster bounded towards Lind and locked blades with him. Man and kobold pushed against each other with all their might, though the latter's strength was clearly superior.

Lind was shoved backwards. Off balance, his eyes widened as the black blade fell upon him –

 ***Clang!***

Hafner, who was behind Lind, intercepted the blow with a grunt. The guildmaster gathered himself and thrust his sword but the kobold jumped back before the attack could connect.

Yamata charged the monster from its blind spot. The monster brushed off his sword and cut deeply into his shoulder. It was about to follow up the attack but Fake Agil's timely intervention forced it to withdraw.

"Yama, switch with me."

"Sorry man, hang in there."

Cain traded places with Yamata while the rest of us kept the Demonic Kobold busy, allowing the tank to fall back and recover.

The monster brutally struck Shivata's shield twice. Despite his heavy shield and armour, each of its blows caused him to skid backwards. Hafner and Lind swiftly flanked the vicious creature; it caught the former's sword with its own but the guild leader landed a clean hit on its exposed back.

Despite taking the full brunt of a Sword Skill, the boss didn't even show the slightest hint of pain.

 _Now's my chance!_

My allies moved out of the way as I leapt towards the Demonic Kobold, my rapier coated in a white light. The monster sidestepped my jab.

 _SHIT!_

I bounced backwards immediately, evading the worst of the boss's retaliatory strike – the tip of its blade grazed my chest – but a vicious kick to my stomach sent my flying. Winded and coughing, I looked up to see Shivata standing between the Demonic Kobold and myself. Someone else was engaging the creature.

"You're injured. Swap out and heal up." In a flash Abel was by my side. He never took his eyes off our adversary as he spoke.

"Alright, I'm counting on you," I replied, grabbing a Health Potion while moving to a safe location. The intense battle raged on for a bit before Abel yelled out excitedly.

"I've got it! Whenever this thing changes targets, it always goes for the nearest person on its right!"

"Well done! Anything else!?" Lind asked.

"It probably doesn't have any AOE skills so attack together!" Cain added.

"Good to know! Yamata, LOL, how many more seconds until you guys are good to go?"

"I'll be ready in ten seconds!" Yamata shouted in response.

"Twelve for me!"

"Hang in there, everyone! We'll go on the offensive once they come back!" To their credit, the DDA members responded to their leader's encouragement with uplifting vigour. Everyone showed a lot of spirit despite the toughness of the battle.

… _Three. Two. One. Now!_

The two supports withdrew as Yamata and I rejoined the fray. Our timing was much appreciated since Cain suffered a harsh stab to the ribs.

"Give 'em hell," Abel told me as I ran by him.

Lind cursed as he blocked an overhead strike, his knees almost buckling from the mighty impact. The Demonic Kobold suddenly spun to its right and sprang towards Shivata. It drew its sword back to unleash a mighty attack but Shivata was ready. He hopped forward unexpectedly and rammed the boss with his shield then slashed the stunned creature across its chest. The kobold stumbled backwards.

Lind charged in from its side. His sword gave off a blue light as he swung it horizontally. The Demonic Kobold dodged the blade and raised its own –

The guildmaster rotated his wrist and smashed his glowing sword into its face. The boss was knocked to the ground.

Hafner swung his blade at the downed enemy but it rolled away before the attack could connect. Paralysed by his Sword Skill's post-motion penalty, he could do nothing but watch as the tip of the kobold's blade fly towards his neck.

"No you don't!"

Yamata yelled as he swatted the black sword away. The next second, an axe dug into the Demonic Kobold's head. Completely unfazed by the weapon embed in its brain, the boss blocked Yamata's follow up strike and slashed him on the waist. Fake Agil pulled his weapon out of the monster and attempted to cleave its skull once more. The monster sidestepped his attack and sliced through his shoulder.

A little more to the left and the attack might've been fatal.

"Asshole!" The Demonic Kobold parried Hafner's sword. He barely blocked its counterstrike but the force of its attack pushed him backwards. As he backpedalled, I ran up to the boss and thrust my rapier. It caught my weapon with its own, not even budging despite the strength I put into my attack.

It didn't matter. Lind ran through the monster with his sword. He gave his weapon a good twist before pulling it out. The boss's HP dropped significantly. Anticipating retaliation, Lind and I jumped away. As the kobold's blade sliced through the space where the guild leader once stood, Shivata charged at the creature with his sword raised. The boss couldn't defend mid-swing and suffered a mighty slash to its abdomen.

The Demonic Kobold leapt backwards to distance itself from us, covering more ground in one jump than any human could. I ran past Shivata and bounded towards the monster.

I pushed off my left foot. The boss raised its sword as I extended my blade towards its face –

I came to a stop by planting my right foot hard onto the ground. At the same time, I rotated my body and drew my right hand back so that I held my rapier in front of my chest. It gave off a bright blue light as I unleashed a swift backhand strike. Caught off guard by my feint, the Demonic Kobold was blasted backwards.

Faking a stab to the face then transitioning to the one-hit Sword Skill [Streak]. Having seen Asuna pull off this combo, I trained rigorously until I could execute it in the heat of battle… though I still lacked her power or grace.

"That's payback, bitch!" I shouted triumphantly. We'd been on the receiving end of the Demonic Kobold's ruthless assault for most of the fight; seeing it get smacked around was oh so satisfying. The boss's first HP bar was empty, and we were halfway through its second one. Instead of recklessly rushing the boss, we cautiously regrouped and observed its movements. If it were to enter a second phase, it would be now.

Our prediction came true: there was much more to the boss than we'd seen thus far. However, what happened next was beyond our wildest imaginations.

At the beginning of the fight, the squirming black tattoo on the Demonic Kobold's body moved rather slowly but now it pulsated rapidly. The monster raised its free hand; in a Darth Vader-esque motion it curled its fingers as if trying to grab onto some imaginary object.

"W-what the hell!? My body feels really heavy!"

"Same here! I'm struggling to move!"

To our horror Hafner and Fake Agil had collapsed onto their knees. For a moment we were at a loss about what happened, then we noticed the red coloured [Movement Speed Debuff] icons next to their names.

To us, SAO had always been a world of swords. The Demonic Kobold's magical abilities went against everything we knew about this world.

 _I thought magic doesn't exist in this game! How did it even – no, this thing's a secret boss for a reason. It's alright, the situation isn't hopeless. We just have to be extra careful._

"We need to regroup. Now." I directed my words at Lind.

"R-right! Uh, erm… s-s-shit, what should we do!?" The guildmaster was panicking. Although he was a capable fighter and good teammate, as a leader Lind still had ways to go.

"You two, fall back for now. Yamata, Abel, stay with them. Everyone else, prepare to engage!" Shivata ordered. His subordinates had been shaken by the boss's unexpected trick but they snapped to action upon hearing his commands.

 _What a reliable vice-leader. They're lucky to have him._

Lind took a deep breath and focused on the approaching creature. Even now, the kobold remained eerily expressionless.

"It's nearly dead. Hang in there everyone!" The anxiety in Lind's voice was palpable but it seemed that he had calmed down sufficiently.

 _Time for the end-game. Can't slip up now!_

Lind and Shivata struggled to endure the boss's unforgiving assault. Cain and I watched them closely. If we moved too late, the Demonic Kobold would surely deflect our attacks. If we acted too early, we'd lose more than the opportunity to strike…

"Hyah!"

Cain saw an opening and lunged. His staff slammed into the monster's black blade. The redhead disengaged and went for a second strike which was effortlessly parried.

Weapons glowing, Shivata and Lind converged on the boss. Our enemy was trapped: defending against both of them at the same time was impossible and it couldn't advance with Cain in front. If it retreated the staff-user would attack.

It was a flawless setup… or so we thought.

The Demonic Kobold shifted its weight onto its right foot. It pushed off the ground and spun on its left, unleashing a savage spinning slash. I was outside the attack's range and Cain jumped back in the nick of time but the other two weren't as lucky. Downed and badly wounded, the leaders of the DDA were in an extremely precarious position.

 _It's wide open! Now!_

"Cain! Attack!"

"R-right!" My voice brought him back to his senses.

The boss was vulnerable after executing such a flashy move. I stabbed it in the abdomen thrice and moved out of the way. Cain slammed his staff onto the creature's head then swung it sideways and sent the boss crashing into the wall behind it.

Staring at us emotionlessly, the Demonic Kobold raised its left hand and squeezed.

"Wha–" Cain fell to the ground with a surprised cry.

 _Shit, not again!_

This time Shivata and Cain were the victims of the kobold's curse, though Hafner and Fake Agil were released from its debilitating spell.

Lind's HP was in the red zone, Cain was suffering from the debuff and Shivata was both of them combined. Their guildmates were rushing over but they were on the other side of the cave. I was the only one standing between those three and the bloodthirsty creature.

 _Alright, I'll take you on!_

The Demonic Kobold cocked back its arm.

My rapier gave off a blue light.

We swung at the same time.

"Kuh…!"

Overpowered, I backpedalled and struggled to stay upright. My arms trembled from the impact.

 _Tch! I'll block the next hit as well!_

I zeroed in on the black sword, gritting my teeth as I prepared for the following strike –

"Gah!"

I landed on my neck. I neglected to watch the kobold's claws and was rewarded with three long red marks on my torso. Yamata leapt over me and locked blades with the boss. It hopped back to evade Fake Agil's axe.

There was nothing I could do but scramble to safety. It would be suicidal for me to join in with what little HP I had; the same could be said for Lind who was nervously watching his guild members fight. Hafner was guarding Shivata and Cain in case the boss decided to go after them. Abel, Yamata and Fake Agil were the only ones left who were able to fight.

As a tank, Yamata was inferior compared to Lind and Shivata in terms of skill. However, he was every bit as courageous. Despite the vast difference in strength, he boldly matched the Demonic Kobold blow for blow. He was our last tank standing; if he were to go down, we'd all be in deep trouble…

He ducked beneath the black sword and slashed upwards. The boss evaded and blocked Fake Agil's follow up strike. Abel deflty sliced into the kobold's exposed side with his dagger.

A couple more hits and the fight would be over.

"Come on guys, we can do this!" Abel encouraged. Yamata was panting heavily; blocking the monster's attacks took a huge toll on him. He swung his curved blade to parry an incoming attack…

 ***Clang!***

Yamata's weapon was knocked out of his hand.

Fake Agil frantically swung his axe. The boss sidestepped the blow and sent him flying with a mighty slash. His HP dropped into the red.

In hindsight, trying to neutralise the enemy before it could act wasn't a bad play. The problem was that Fake Agil didn't put enough thought into his attack. He should've expected the boss to dodge and hit back; if he'd been calmer perhaps the battle might've went differently.

"Look out!" Abel moved in front of his disarmed teammate. It was a reckless move: there was no way his dagger could match the kobold's vastly superior weapon. The black sword broke through Abel's guard and cut into his flesh.

Cain yelled, fearful for his brother's life. Both he and Shivata were useless in their current states.

Lind ran. He intended to intervene despite his low HP.

Hafner hesitated and chased after the guild leader.

Fake Agil was sprawled out on the ground. Help would not come from him.

I unsheathed the [Elven Dagger] strapped to my waist and took aim. I wouldn't make it in time, even with my fastest rapier skill. I could only hope to distract the boss with a ranged attack.

 _Please hit!_

Lind and Hafner were still too far away.

I hurled the knife.

The Kobold drew back its arm.

My weapon…

Found its mark. The sharp dagger sank into the monster's head.

It didn't make a damn difference.

"NOOOOOO!"

At the last second Yamata pushed Abel out of the way. Just like the Argo in my dreams, he died with a blade between his eyes.

With a cry of despair Lind thrust his sword into the Demonic Kobold's back.

"DIE! DIE YOU FUCKER!" Tears slid down his face as he screamed out in agony.

The Demonic Kobold disintegrated into tiny bits. We had finally defeated it – but at what cost? This was no victory for us.

Lind fell to his fours. He shrieked and pounded the ground several times.

Shivata's visor covered his face. His body trembled; surely he too was grieving his comrade's death.

Cain had pulled Abel into a tight hug. The brothers cried as they embraced.

Hafner stood in silence. He seemed to be paying his respects to his deceased guildmate.

Fake Agil shook with fear. From that moment on, he would never be at peace again.

My body felt weak; I had to lean against the cave's wall to support myself. Death was no stranger to me, yet this was the first time someone was slain before my very eyes. It felt sickening, more so because the deceased was someone I knew. The DDA guild members and I weren't close but I had hoped that we could all escape from SAO together.

I was frustrated and horrified. This was the best I had ever fought. I was in peak condition: my movements, reactions, concentration, everything was on a whole different level during the battle. And yet, I failed.

 _If my best isn't enough then what'll happen when I screw up? I'm not a machine; I'm bound to make mistakes!_

Like a parasite inside my body, this paranoid thought would slowly eat away at me.

 _When someone dies the next time, will it be my fault? Will I be responsible for killing –_

A hand on my shoulder abruptly snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Let's go." Shivata's voice was sorrowful.

The return journey was awfully quiet.

* * *

"… What happened?"

Of course perceptive, observant Argo would notice that something was wrong. I had messaged the informant after the boss battle and told her to meet me in my room. I took a deep breath and answered her query.

"The boss killed someone."

"… Shit. I'm so sorry." Her voice was unusually soft.

"Sit down, I'll tell you everything that happened."

Recalling everything while remaining relatively calm was a herculean effort. Argo was silent the whole time I spoke.

"I see… there's a lot to unpack here. With everythin' that happened, I'm glad yer safe."

"I'll leave the analysis to you and Claws. I'm too tired to think," I said as I leaned back. Argo watched me with a concerned expression before opening her mouth again.

"It wasn't yer fault that Yamata died. None of ya were responsible for it."

 _Will it be my fault when something happens next time? No, I shouldn't be thinking like this (I don't want to be a murder I don't want to be a murderer). I have to stay optimistic (I'm so scared). I'm not strong, I'm not smart. My positivity is the only thing I can contribute; if I can't even act as an emotional support then I'll literally be good for nothing (aren't I already useless? My best wasn't enough)! I'm here to help people, I can't be a liability (am I a liability? I don't know, I don't want to know.)_

"… L?" My lack of response did not ease Argo's worries.

"Sorry, I was distracted. Anyways, you should go discuss what I've told you with Claws. I'm sure you two will figure out something. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine after –"

… _Oh._

Argo embraced me gently.

"Stop tryin' to act tough. Let it out, it'll make ya feel better."

 _Don't give in! You chose this path. You're here to help… people, not to… be.. hel…pe…d_ …

I sobbed into Argo's shoulder. I'd been feeling terrible but this, this was a new low point for me. I exhausted myself crying and fell asleep clinging to my mentor.

* * *

 **A/N: Large scale PVE fights are annoyingly complicated. I've been using chess pieces to get a feel for the characters' positioning during the boss fight, and have been swinging a wooden sword like an idiot to act out the battle scenes.**

 **Aside from items like Healing and Teleport Crystals, no SAO player will be able to use magic; that is a privilege exclusive to NPCs. It's more challenging this way.**

 **Lind is a character in the LNs and Progressive manga. He's actually the one who accuses Kirito of killing Diavel but that role was give to Kibaou in the anime. He assumes a larger role here because portraying characters like Lind and Kibaou as nothing more than 'antagonistic extras' is boring.**

 **Shivata, Yamata and Hafner are canon characters. Cain and Abel are minor OCs; they're inspired by certain** _ **Fire Emblem**_ **characters. The narrator (LOL) doesn't have perfect memory so certain details, such Fake Agil's username, might be 'forgotten'.**

 **In canon, the KOB is founded by Heathcliff and isn't formed until later on but here Godfree's the founder and it's one of the earliest guilds in the game. Don't worry, Heathcliff is in this fic. He will have an extremely important role.**

 **I noticed that certain key themes (e.g. paranoia, the protagonist's thoughts and motivations) aren't consistently developed in earlier chapters; as such some parts of the story – in particular bits of this chapter – might feel sudden or jarring. Since this lack of continuity will certainly affect the rest of the story, I'm going to rewrite the existing chapters. The basic plot will remain the same but there will be changes to some areas and additional content. You'll know that I've completed this once I publish the next chapter.**

 **As usual, thanks for reading and have a nice day!**

* * *

Omake: Catching up

The purple-haired teenager was in a great mood. The raid party had cleared out yet another floor; yes, there were ninety-seven more levels to go but the Clearers were making great progress.

"Hey! Over here!"

Dillon smiled as he heard the familiar voice. He cheerfully walked (ran) up to his friends and sat with them. He had been looking forward to this chance to catch up for quite a while.

"Long time no see," Lisbeth greeted with a smirk. It was a strange thing to say, for it was only yesterday when he came to her shop for repairs. "Order up, everything's on me!"

"Just because you're the richest among us doesn't mean you have to flaunt your wealth," the grey-haired teenager next to her quipped. Dillon noticed that he was considerably exhausted.

"So, what's it like to be in Godfree's party?" Lisbeth asked after Dillon made his order.

"It's nice. Godfree's a really cool guy and everyone's quite strong but sometimes I feel bad about slowing everyone down. I mean, I stopped fighting for some time after… _that_ happened so I'm kinda lagging behind."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. The fact that you took part in today's boss raid is proof that your teammates have faith in you. If you really were a hindrance to them, they wouldn't have allowed you to join them, right?"

Dillon had to concede that the blacksmith's words made sense.

"That's true. Thanks, I needed to hear that."

"How'd you get in – *yawn* – excuse me. How'd you get into Godfree's party in the first place?" LOL asked.

"Even though I couldn't fight, I still wanted to do something useful. After you two and Asuna left, I contacted the Rat for advice. She helped me to get into a group on Floor 1 called MMO Today – have you heard of them?"

"They're that bunch on Floor 1 that's trying to feed the non-combatants, right?"

"That's right. I was one of their members until Floor 2 was cleared. During that time, I met a girl called Philia." For some reason Dillon's friends perked up upon hearing about the female. "She's one of Godfree's party members and occasionally helps the MMO guys as a volunteer. One day she asked me if I wanted to go back to the front lines. I wasn't sure then, but after watching the Asterius raid I made up my mind. So I told Philia about my decision, and she brought me into Godfree's party."

"That was quite interesting. I know we say this all the time but we're really proud of you. I'm sure that one day your story will inspire someone who's going through tough times," Lisbeth said. Dillon mulled over her words. Ever since that fateful day he had always hoped that he could turn back time so that the failed boss raid would've never happened, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking. However, if hope for another could be born out of the tragedy he experienced then perhaps Darcy, Elizabeth and Akroor's deaths would not be in vain.

"Now then, Dillon." Something about her tone felt off. "Why don't you tell me about this Philia? She sounds like quite a… fascinating person, no?"

 _Why are you guys grinning like that? What's going on?_

"I don't mean this in a rude way but she's really strange! Ninety-nine percent of the time she acts like she's bored and doesn't care about anything. She always speaks in a monotonous voice, and even in battle she doesn't care about being hit! One time we were fighting a [Dark Elf Scout] and Philia just let it stab her in the stomach – all because she _"couldn't be bothered to dodge"_! Oh, but she isn't a bad person. She does care about the people around her in her own way," Dillon hastily added.

"Seems like you're quite interested in her." The way Lisbeth spoke made the purple-eyed boy quite uneasy. "Be honest now. Do you have a crush on Philia?"

"What!? No no no no no, we're friends but that's it! Really! The only one I have eyes for is Suguha!"

 _Crap, I shouldn't have said that last bit! Wait, why did I use her first name!? I'm not Shinichi!_

"Ooooooh…?"

 _Uh oh._

"Su. Gu. Ha. Did I hear that right?" Lisbeth was asking a question she knew the answer to. Though he stayed quiet, Dillon's blushing, panicked expression was a dead giveaway. "Suguha. I must say, it's a nice name. Who is this Suguha, Dillon? Might she be…"

The mischievous blacksmith paused for dramatic effect.

"… Your girlfriend?"

"No! No, she's just a classmate."

"But you like her, right? I mean, you pretty much admitted it!"

"Y-yes. I do." The purple-haired boy was blushing furiously.

"We'd love to hear the details, wouldn't we, L?" With a grin that would make Cheshire Cat proud, Lisbeth turned to her friend…

He was dozing off.

"Argh, this sleepy idiot!" Lisbeth placed a hand one her sleeping friend's shoulder and shook him violently. Dillon watched silently, grateful for the distraction.


End file.
